Coast and Sea

Shipping forecast and gale warnings


The general synopsis at 1800

High Sole 1020 expected Irish Sea 1023 by 1800 Monday

Issued at: .

For the period to .

Shipping forecast and gale warnings map


Viking

Wind
Westerly or northwesterly, 4 to 6.
Sea state
Moderate or rough.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate.

North Utsire

Wind
Westerly or northwesterly, 4 to 6.
Sea state
Moderate or rough.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate.

South Utsire

Wind
Westerly or northwesterly, 4 to 6, increasing 7 later in east.
Sea state
Moderate or rough.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate.

Forties

Wind
Westerly or northwesterly, 4 to 6.
Sea state
Slight at first in southeast, otherwise moderate or rough.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate.

Cromarty

Wind
Westerly or northwesterly, 4 to 6, occasionally 3 later.
Sea state
Smooth or slight in west, otherwise moderate or rough.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate.

Forth

Wind
Westerly or northwesterly 3 to 5, becoming variable 2 to 4.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Rain then showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor at first.

Tyne

Wind
Westerly or northwesterly 3 to 5, becoming variable 2 to 4.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Rain then showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor at first.

Dogger

Wind
Westerly or northwesterly 3 to 5, becoming variable 2 to 4 later in west.
Sea state
Slight or moderate, occasionally rough later in far northeast.
Weather
Rain then showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor at first.

Fisher

Wind
Westerly 3 to 5, veering northwesterly 4 to 6, occasionally 7 later in northeast.
Sea state
Slight or moderate, becoming moderate or rough.
Weather
Rain then showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor at first.

German Bight

Wind
West 3 to 5, veering northwest 4 to 6.
Sea state
Smooth at first in south, otherwise slight or moderate, becoming moderate or rough.
Weather
Rain then showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor at first.

Humber

Wind
West or northwest 3 to 5, veering east or northeast 2 to 4 later.
Sea state
Smooth or slight, becoming slight or moderate later.
Weather
Occasional rain at first.
Visibility
Good occasionally moderate at first.

Thames

Wind
West or northwest 3 to 5, veering east or northeast 2 to 4 later.
Sea state
Smooth or slight.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

Dover

Wind
Westerly or northwesterly 3 to 5, veering easterly or northeasterly 2 to 4 later, occasionally 5 later in south.
Sea state
Smooth or slight.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

Wight

Wind
Northwest becoming variable, 2 to 4, then northeast 3 to 5 later.
Sea state
Smooth or slight.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

Portland

Wind
Northwest becoming variable, 2 to 4.
Sea state
Smooth or slight.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

Plymouth

Wind
Northwest becoming variable, 2 to 4.
Sea state
Smooth or slight.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

Biscay

Wind
Variable 3 or less in south, otherwise northerly or northeasterly 2 to 4 occasionally 5 later in north.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Thundery showers at first in southeast.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor at first in southeast.

Trafalgar

Wind
Northerly or northwesterly 2 to 4, occasionally 5 in southeast.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

FitzRoy

Wind
Variable 2 to 4.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate.

Sole

Wind
Variable 2 to 4, becoming southeasterly 5 later in west.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate.

Lundy

Wind
Northwest becoming variable, 2 to 4.
Sea state
Smooth or slight.
Weather
Showers at first.
Visibility
Good.

Fastnet

Wind
Northwest becoming variable, 2 to 4.
Sea state
Smooth or slight, but moderate until later in southwest.
Weather
Showers at first.
Visibility
Good.

Irish Sea

Wind
North or northwest veering east or northeast, 3 to 5.
Sea state
Smooth or slight.
Weather
Mainly fair.
Visibility
Good.

Shannon

Wind
Variable 2 to 4, becoming southeast 3 to 5.
Sea state
Moderate, occasionally slight in far east.
Weather
Occasional rain.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate.

Rockall

Wind
Variable 2 to 4, becoming southeasterly 3 to 5, occasionally 6 later in west.
Sea state
Moderate.
Weather
Occasional rain.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate.

Malin

Wind
Variable 2 to 4, becoming southeast 3 to 5 later.
Sea state
Moderate, occasionally slight in far east.
Weather
Occasional rain.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate.

Hebrides

Wind
North or northwest 3 to 5, becoming variable 2 to 4, then south 3 to 5 later.
Sea state
Moderate or rough becoming slight or moderate.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Good.

Bailey

Wind
North or northwest 3 to 5, becoming variable 2 to 4, then south 3 to 5 later.
Sea state
Moderate or rough becoming slight or moderate.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Good.

Fair Isle

Wind
Northwest 5 to 7, becoming variable 2 to 4 later.
Sea state
Moderate or rough, becoming moderate later, but occasionally very rough at first.
Weather
Showers at first.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate at first.

Faeroes

Wind
Northwest 5 to 7, becoming variable 2 to 4 later.
Sea state
Moderate or rough, becoming moderate later, but occasionally very rough at first.
Weather
Showers at first.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate at first.

Southeast Iceland

Wind
Northwesterly 3 to 5, becoming variable then southerly or southwesterly later, 2 to 4.
Sea state
Moderate or rough becoming slight or moderate.
Weather
Showers at first.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate at first.

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.

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