Coast and Sea
Shipping forecast and gale warnings
The general synopsis at 1800
High just north of Fair Isle 1035 expected the Baltic sea 1032 by 1800 Friday
Issued at: .
For the period to .
Shipping forecast and gale warnings map
Viking
- Wind
- Northerly or northeasterly 3 to 5, becoming variable 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Fair.
- Visibility
- Good.
North Utsire
- Wind
- Northerly or northeasterly 3 to 5, becoming variable 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Fair.
- Visibility
- Good.
South Utsire
- Wind
- Southeasterly 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Fair.
- Visibility
- Good.
Forties
- Wind
- East or southeast 3 to 5, decreasing 2 at times later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good.
Cromarty
- Wind
- East or southeast 3 to 5, decreasing 2 at times later.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good.
Forth
- Wind
- East or southeast 3 to 5, decreasing 2 at times later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good.
Tyne
- Wind
- East or southeast 3 to 5, decreasing 2 at times later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good.
Dogger
- Wind
- East or southeast 3 to 5, decreasing 2 at times later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good.
Fisher
- Wind
- East or southeast 3 or 4.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate, occasionally smooth in far east.
- Weather
- Fog patches at first in far east.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally very poor at first in far east.
German Bight
- Wind
- East or southeast 3 or 4, increasing 5 at times.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate, occasionally smooth in far east.
- Weather
- Fog patches at first in far east.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally very poor at first in far east.
Humber
- Wind
- Easterly or southeasterly 3 to 5, becoming variable 3 or less later in west.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Fair.
- Visibility
- Good.
Thames
- Wind
- East or southeast 3 to 5, becoming variable 3 or less.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight, occasionally moderate at first in north.
- Weather
- Occasional rain or showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Dover
- Wind
- East or southeast 3 to 5, becoming variable 3 or less.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Occasional rain or showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Wight
- Wind
- East or southeast 3 to 5, becoming variable 3 or less.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Occasional rain or showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Portland
- Wind
- Easterly or northeasterly 3 to 5 at first in north, otherwise variable 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Occasional rain or showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Plymouth
- Wind
- Easterly or northeasterly 3 to 5 at first in north, otherwise variable 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight, occasionally moderate at first.
- Weather
- Occasional rain or showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Biscay
- Wind
- Variable, becoming easterly later, 2 to 4, occasionally 5 later in south.
- Sea state
- Slight, occasionally moderate at first in far west.
- Weather
- Showers, perhaps thundery at first.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
Trafalgar
- Wind
- Variable 2 to 4 in far southeast, elsewhere southerly or southeasterly, 4 to 6, veering southwesterly 2 to 4 later in west.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight in far southeast, elsewhere slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Rain or thundery showers.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor.
FitzRoy
- Wind
- In southwest, southeasterly 4 to 6, veering southwesterly 2 to 4 later in southwest. In northeast, easterly or southeasterly 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- In southwest, moderate, occasionally rough. in northeast, slight or moderate.
- Weather
- In southwest, rain or showers. In northeast, showers.
- Visibility
- In southwest, moderate or good, occasionally poor. In northeast, good.
FitzRoy
- Wind
- In southwest, southeasterly 4 to 6, veering southwesterly 2 to 4 later in southwest. In northeast, easterly or southeasterly 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- In southwest, moderate, occasionally rough. in northeast, slight or moderate.
- Weather
- In southwest, rain or showers. In northeast, showers.
- Visibility
- In southwest, moderate or good, occasionally poor. In northeast, good.
Sole
- Wind
- Easterly or southeasterly 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good.
Lundy
- Wind
- Easterly 3 to 5, becoming variable 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Occasional rain or showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Fastnet
- Wind
- Easterly 3 to 5, becoming variable 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight, occasionally moderate at first in southwest.
- Weather
- Occasional rain or showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Irish Sea
- Wind
- Easterly 3 to 5, becoming variable 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Occasional rain or showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Shannon
- Wind
- East or southeast 3 to 5, decreasing 2 or 3 later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good.
Rockall
- Wind
- East or southeast 3 to 5, decreasing 2 or 3 later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good.
Malin
- Wind
- East or southeast 3 to 5, decreasing 2 or 3 later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good.
Hebrides
- Wind
- Southeasterly becoming variable, 2 or 3, occasionally 4 at first.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good.
Bailey
- Wind
- In southeast, southeasterly becoming variable, 2 or 3, occasionally 4 at first. In northwest, southerly veering southwesterly, 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- In southeast, slight or moderate. in northwest, moderate.
- Weather
- In southeast, showers. In northwest, showers.
- Visibility
- In southeast, good. In northwest, good.
Bailey
- Wind
- In southeast, southeasterly becoming variable, 2 or 3, occasionally 4 at first. In northwest, southerly veering southwesterly, 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- In southeast, slight or moderate. in northwest, moderate.
- Weather
- In southeast, showers. In northwest, showers.
- Visibility
- In southeast, good. In northwest, good.
Fair Isle
- Wind
- Variable 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good.
Faeroes
- Wind
- Variable 2 to 4, becoming southwesterly 3 to 5 later in northwest.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good.
Southeast Iceland
- Wind
- Southwesterly 4 to 6.
- Sea state
- Moderate, occasionally rough at first in far north.
- Weather
- Rain or 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.