Shipping forecast and gale warnings
The general synopsis at midnight
High FitzRoy 1027 expected Lundy 1032 by midnight tonight
Issued at: .
For the period to .
Shipping forecast and gale warnings map
Viking
- Gale warning
-
Issued:
Gale force 8 veering northwesterly imminent
- Wind
- Westerly veering northwesterly 6 to gale 8, decreasing 4 or 5 later.
- Sea state
- Rough or very rough, becoming moderate or rough later.
- Weather
- Squally showers.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor at first.
North Utsire
- Gale warning
-
Issued:
Gale force 8 veering westerly imminent
- Wind
- Westerly veering northwesterly, 6 to gale 8.
- Sea state
- Rough or very rough.
- Weather
- Squally showers.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor at first.
South Utsire
- Gale warning
-
Issued:
Gale force 8 veering northwesterly soon
- Wind
- Westerly veering northwesterly, 6 to gale 8.
- Sea state
- Rough or very rough.
- Weather
- Squally showers.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor at first.
Forties
- Gale warning
-
Issued:
Gale force 8 veering northwesterly soon
- Wind
- Westerly veering northwesterly 6 to gale 8, decreasing 4 or 5 later.
- Sea state
- Rough or very rough, becoming moderate or rough later.
- Weather
- Squally showers.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor at first.
Cromarty
- Gale warning
-
Issued:
Gale force 8 veering westerly soon
- Wind
- West 6 or 7, occasionally gale 8 at first, veering northwest 4 to 6, backing southwest 3 or 4 later.
- Sea state
- Rough until later in east, otherwise slight or moderate, but becoming smooth or slight later in west.
- Weather
- Showers at first.
- Visibility
- Good.
Forth
- Wind
- West 6 or 7 veering northwest 4 to 6, backing southwest 3 or 4 later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate, becoming smooth or slight later.
- Weather
- Showers at first.
- Visibility
- Good.
Tyne
- Wind
- West 6 or 7 veering northwest 4 to 6, backing southwest 3 or 4 later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Showers at first.
- Visibility
- Good.
Dogger
- Gale warning
-
Issued:
Westerly gale force 8 expected soon
- Wind
- West veering northwest 6 to gale 8, decreasing 4 or 5 later.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough in southwest, rough or very rough in northeast.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good.
Fisher
- Gale warning
-
Issued:
Westerly gale force 8 expected soon
- Wind
- West veering northwest, 6 to gale 8.
- Sea state
- Rough or very rough.
- Weather
- Squally showers.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor.
German Bight
- Gale warning
-
Issued:
Westerly gale force 8 expected later
- Wind
- West veering northwest, 6 to gale 8.
- Sea state
- Moderate at first in southeast, otherwise rough or very rough.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good.
Humber
- Wind
- West 5 or 6 veering northwest 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Rough until later in northeast, otherwise slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Occasional rain at first.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate at first.
Thames
- Wind
- West 5 or 6 veering northwest 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Occasional rain at first.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate at first.
Dover
- Wind
- West or northwest 3 to 5 becoming variable 3 or less.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate becoming smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Occasional rain at first.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor at first.
Wight
- Wind
- West or northwest 3 to 5 becoming variable 3 or less.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate becoming smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Occasional rain at first.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor at first.
Portland
- Wind
- West or northwest 3 to 5 becoming variable 3 or less.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate, becoming smooth or slight in north.
- Weather
- Occasional rain at first.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor at first.
Plymouth
- Wind
- West or northwest 3 to 5 becoming variable 3 or less.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Occasional rain at first, fog patches later.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor at first and very poor later.
Biscay
- Wind
- Variable 2 to 4 in north, easterly or northeasterly 3 to 5 in south.
- Sea state
- Moderate.
- Weather
- Mainly fair.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good.
FitzRoy
- Wind
- Variable 2 to 4 in north, easterly or northeasterly mainly 3 to 5 in south, but occasionally 6 in southeast.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough.
- Weather
- Mainly fair.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good.
Trafalgar (issued 23:15 UTC+1)
- Wind
- Easterly 5 to 7 in far southeast, but elsewhere northerly or northeasterly 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Mainly moderate, but moderate or rough in far southeast.
- Weather
- Fair.
- Visibility
- Good.
Sole
- Wind
- Variable 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Rough, becoming slight or moderate later.
- Weather
- Occasional rain at first.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor at first.
Lundy
- Wind
- Variable 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Occasional rain at first.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor at first.
Fastnet
- Wind
- Variable 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Rough until later in southwest, otherwise slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Occasional rain at first.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor at first.
Irish Sea
- Wind
- West or northwest 4 to 6 backing southwest 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate becoming smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Rain later in northwest.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor later in northwest.
Shannon
- Wind
- Variable 2 to 4 becoming southerly 4 to 6.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough.
- Weather
- Showers then rain, fog patches later.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally very poor later.
Rockall
- Wind
- Westerly 5 to 7 at first in northeast, otherwise variable 2 to 4 becoming southerly 4 to 6.
- Sea state
- Very rough, becoming moderate or rough.
- Weather
- Showers then rain, fog patches later.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally very poor later.
Malin
- Wind
- Westerly 5 to 7 backing southerly 4 to 6.
- Sea state
- Very rough, becoming moderate or rough.
- Weather
- Showers then rain, fog patches later.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally very poor later.
Hebrides
- Wind
- Westerly 5 to 7 backing southerly 4 to 6.
- Sea state
- Very rough, becoming moderate or rough.
- Weather
- Squally showers then rain, fog patches later.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally very poor later.
Bailey
- Wind
- Westerly 5 to 7 backing southerly 4 to 6, then occasionally 7 again later.
- Sea state
- Very rough, becoming moderate or rough.
- Weather
- Showers then rain, fog patches later.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally very poor later.
Fair Isle
- Gale warning
-
Issued:
Gale force 8 veering northwesterly imminent
- Wind
- Northwest 6 to gale 8, backing southwest 3 to 5 later.
- Sea state
- Rough or very rough, becoming moderate or rough later.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good.
Faeroes
- Wind
- Northwesterly 4 to 6 becoming cyclonic 3 to 5, then southeasterly 5 to 7 later.
- Sea state
- Rough or very rough becoming moderate or rough.
- Weather
- Showers, then rain later.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor later.
Southeast Iceland
- Wind
- Northwesterly 4 to 6 becoming cyclonic 3 to 5, then southeasterly 5 to 7 later.
- Sea state
- Rough or very rough becoming moderate or rough.
- Weather
- Showers, then rain later.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor later.
Shipping forecast information
The shipping forecast is issued four times a day at 2300, 0500, 1100, 1700 UTC and covers a period of 24 hours from 0000, 0600, 1200 and 1800 UTC respectively.
The waters around the British Isles are divided into 31 sea areas shown on the map.
The forecast contains details of gale warnings in force, a general synopsis and sea-area forecasts containing wind direction and force, sea state, weather and visibility.
Gale warnings are issued as required throughout the day (for winds of Gale Force 8 or more).
Marine forecasts disclaimer
In the UK, the Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA) is responsible for the provision of Maritime Safety Information (MSI) to ships at sea, which includes the broadcast of warnings and forecasts. The Met Office initiates warnings and prepares routine forecasts for dissemination on behalf of the MCA.
Caution: The internet is not part of the Maritime Safety Information system and should never be relied upon as the only means to obtain the latest forecast and warning information. Access to the service may be interrupted or delayed from time to time, updates may also be delayed.
Please refer to GMDSS services, INMARSAT SafetyNET or international NAVTEX for the latest information. When using these web pages, always check that the page on your screen is not from your cache. Use the Refresh or Reload button if in any doubt.