Shipping forecast and gale warnings
The general synopsis at 1800
Low west Iceland 991 moving slowly south, filling 997 by 1800 Tuesday. New low moving steadily northwest, expected Norwegian Basin 995 by same time
Issued at: .
For the period to .
Shipping forecast and gale warnings map
Viking
- Wind
- Variable 2 to 4, becoming northwest 4 to 6, then backing southwest 3 or 4 later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Rain or showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
North Utsire
- Wind
- Variable 2 to 4, becoming northwesterly 4 to 6, then backing southwesterly 3 or 4 later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Rain or showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
South Utsire
- Wind
- Variable 2 to 4, becoming northwesterly 4 to 6, then backing southwesterly 3 or 4 later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Rain or showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
Forties
- Wind
- Variable 2 to 4, becoming west or southwest 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Slight, occasionally moderate.
- Weather
- Showers, thundery later.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Cromarty
- Wind
- Variable 2 to 4, becoming west or southwest 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Showers, thundery later.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Forth
- Wind
- Variable 2 to 4, becoming west or southwest 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Showers, thundery later.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Tyne
- Wind
- West or southwest 4 or 5.
- Sea state
- Slight, occasionally smooth.
- Weather
- Showers, thundery later.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Dogger
- Wind
- West or southwest 4 or 5.
- Sea state
- Slight, occasionally moderate.
- Weather
- Showers, thundery later.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Fisher
- Wind
- Cyclonic 3 to 5, becoming west or southwest 4 to 6.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Rain at first, then thundery showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
German Bight
- Wind
- West backing southwest 4 to 6.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Rain at first, thundery showers later.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
Humber
- Wind
- West backing southwest 4 to 6.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Thundery showers later.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Thames
- Wind
- West backing southwest 4 to 6.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Thundery showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Dover
- Wind
- West or southwest 4 to 6.
- Sea state
- Moderate, occasionally slight.
- Weather
- Thundery showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Wight
- Wind
- West or southwest 4 to 6.
- Sea state
- Moderate, occasionally slight.
- Weather
- Thundery showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Portland
- Wind
- West 4 to 6.
- Sea state
- Moderate.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good.
Plymouth
- Wind
- West 4 to 6.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good.
Biscay
- Wind
- Westerly or northwesterly 4 or 5, becoming variable 2 to 4 in south.
- Sea state
- Moderate, occasionally rough in northwest.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good.
Trafalgar
- Wind
- Northerly or northwesterly 4 to 6, occasionally 7 west of portugal later.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough.
- Weather
- Fair.
- Visibility
- Good.
FitzRoy
- Wind
- In south, northerly or northwesterly 4 to 6, becoming variable 2 to 4 in northwest. In north, westerly 4 to 6, veering northwesterly 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough.
- Weather
- In south, fair. In north, showers.
- Visibility
- Good.
FitzRoy
- Wind
- In south, northerly or northwesterly 4 to 6, becoming variable 2 to 4 in northwest. In north, westerly 4 to 6, veering northwesterly 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough.
- Weather
- In south, fair. In north, showers.
- Visibility
- Good.
Sole
- Wind
- West 6, decreasing 4 or 5.
- Sea state
- Rough.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good.
Lundy
- Wind
- West 5 or 6, occasionally 4 later.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough.
- Weather
- Showers, thundery at first.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Fastnet
- Wind
- West 5 or 6, occasionally 4 later.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough.
- Weather
- Showers, thundery at first.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Irish Sea
- Wind
- Southwest veering west 4 to 6.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Thundery showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
Shannon
- Wind
- West 5 or 6, occasionally 7 at first.
- Sea state
- Rough, occasionally very rough at first.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Rockall
- Wind
- Westerly or northwesterly 4 to 6, occasionally 7 at first in south.
- Sea state
- Rough, occasionally very rough at first in south.
- Weather
- Thundery showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
Malin
- Wind
- West or southwest 4 or 5, occasionally 6 at first.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough.
- Weather
- Thundery showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
Hebrides
- Wind
- West or southwest 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough.
- Weather
- Thundery showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
Bailey
- Wind
- West or southwest 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough.
- Weather
- Thundery showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
Fair Isle
- Wind
- South 3 to 5, becoming variable 2 to 4, then west later.
- Sea state
- Moderate, occasionally slight in southeast.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Faeroes
- Wind
- South 3 to 5, becoming variable 2 to 4, then west later.
- Sea state
- Moderate.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Southeast Iceland
- Wind
- Southerly or southeasterly 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Moderate.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
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.