Coast and Sea
Shipping forecast and gale warnings
The general synopsis at midday
New high expected FitzRoy 1024 by midday tomorrow. Low German Bight 998 moving away steadily eastwards
Issued at: .
For the period to .
Shipping forecast and gale warnings map
Viking
- Wind
- Westerly or northwesterly 4 to 6, occasionally 7 in north.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough, becoming very rough for a time in far north.
- 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, occasionally 7 later in east.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Forties
- Wind
- Northwest 4 to 6, backing west or southwest 3 to 5 later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate, becoming rough in northeast.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good.
Cromarty
- Wind
- Northwest 4 to 6, backing west or southwest 3 to 5 later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate in east, smooth or slight in west.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good.
Forth
- Wind
- Variable 3 or less becoming west or northwest 4 or 5, then variable 2 to 4 later.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight, becoming slight or moderate in east.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor at first.
Tyne
- Wind
- Variable 3 or less becoming west or northwest 4 or 5, then variable 2 to 4 later.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight becoming slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor at first.
Dogger
- Wind
- Northwest 3 to 5, backing southwest 3 or 4 later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate at first.
Fisher
- Wind
- Variable 3 or 4 becoming northwesterly 5 or 6, occasionally 7 later in northeast.
- Sea state
- Moderate becoming rough.
- Weather
- Rain then showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
German Bight
- Wind
- Cyclonic becoming northwest, 4 to 6.
- Sea state
- Moderate, occasionally slight at first in east and rough later in far north.
- Weather
- Rain then showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Humber
- Wind
- Cyclonic 3 to 5 becoming northwest 4 to 6, then variable 2 to 4 later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate at first.
Thames
- Wind
- Cyclonic 3 to 5 becoming northwest 4 to 6, then variable 2 to 4 later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate, becoming smooth or slight later in west.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate at first.
Dover
- Wind
- Southwesterly veering westerly or northwesterly, 4 to 6, backing westerly or southwesterly 3 to 5 later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good.
Wight
- Wind
- Southwesterly at first in east, otherwise westerly or northwesterly, 4 to 6, backing westerly or southwesterly 3 to 5 later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good.
Portland
- Wind
- Westerly or northwesterly 4 to 6, backing westerly or southwesterly 3 to 5 later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good.
Plymouth
- Wind
- Westerly or northwesterly 4 to 6, backing westerly or southwesterly 3 to 5 later.
- Sea state
- Rough at first in west, otherwise slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good.
Biscay
- Wind
- Northwest 4 or 5 becoming variable 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Rough at first in far northwest, otherwise moderate.
- Weather
- Showers at first.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate at first.
Trafalgar (issued 23:15 UTC+1)
- Wind
- Cyclonic 3 to 5 in far southeast, otherwise northerly 4 to 6.
- Sea state
- Moderate occasionally slight.
- Weather
- Fair.
- Visibility
- Good.
FitzRoy
- Wind
- In south, northerly or northwesterly veering northeasterly, 3 to 5, occasionally 6 in east. In north, northwesterly 4 or 5 becoming variable 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Rough at first in northeast, otherwise moderate.
- Weather
- In south, showers. In north, showers at first.
- Visibility
- In south, moderate or good. In north, good.
FitzRoy
- Wind
- In south, northerly or northwesterly veering northeasterly, 3 to 5, occasionally 6 in east. In north, northwesterly 4 or 5 becoming variable 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Rough at first in northeast, otherwise moderate.
- Weather
- In south, showers. In north, showers at first.
- Visibility
- In south, moderate or good. In north, good.
Sole
- Wind
- Northwesterly 4 or 5 becoming variable 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Rough becoming moderate.
- Weather
- Showers at first.
- Visibility
- Good.
Lundy
- Wind
- Northwest 4 to 6, backing southwest 3 to 5 later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Fastnet
- Wind
- Northwest 4 to 6, backing southwest 3 to 5 later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate in northeast, but in southwest, rough, becoming moderate later.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Irish Sea
- Wind
- Northwest 4 to 6, backing southwest 3 to 5 later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Shannon
- Wind
- Northwest 4 to 6 backing west or southwest 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Rough, becoming moderate later.
- Weather
- Showers, then rain later.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor later.
Rockall
- Wind
- Northwest 4 to 6 backing west or southwest 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Rough, becoming moderate later.
- Weather
- Showers, then rain later.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor later.
Malin
- Wind
- Northwest 4 to 6 backing west or southwest 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Rough, becoming moderate later.
- Weather
- Showers, then rain later.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor later.
Hebrides
- Wind
- Northwesterly backing westerly or southwesterly, 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Rough, becoming moderate later.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Bailey
- Wind
- In south, northwesterly backing westerly or southwesterly, 3 to 5. In north, variable 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- In south, rough, becoming moderate later. in north, rough becoming moderate.
- Weather
- In south, showers. In north, occasional rain later.
- Visibility
- In south, good, occasionally moderate. In north, good, occasionally moderate later.
Bailey
- Wind
- In south, northwesterly backing westerly or southwesterly, 3 to 5. In north, variable 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- In south, rough, becoming moderate later. in north, rough becoming moderate.
- Weather
- In south, showers. In north, occasional rain later.
- Visibility
- In south, good, occasionally moderate. In north, good, occasionally moderate later.
Fair Isle
- Wind
- Westerly or northwesterly 4 to 6, occasionally 7 in north.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough, becoming very rough for a time in far north.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Faeroes
- Wind
- Westerly or northwesterly 4 to 6, occasionally 7 in north.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough, becoming very rough for a time in far east.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Southeast Iceland
- Wind
- Northwesterly 4 to 6 in east but variable 2 to 4 in west.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough in east, slight or moderate in west.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good.
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.