Coast and sea
General situation
A complex and slow moving area of low pressure centred over or close to the United Kingdom, will dominate into the weekend. Winds will be light at times with fog patches and showers are expected.
Issued at:
For coastal areas up to 12 miles offshore for the period to
Inshore waters forecast and strong winds map
Cape Wrath to Rattray Head including Orkney (1)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- East or southeast backing north or northwest later, 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate, occasionally smooth in Moray Firth.
- Weather
- Fog patches.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- North or northwest, 2 to 4, becoming variable 3 or less.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight, occasionally moderate in north.
- Weather
- Fog patches at first.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally very poor at first.
Rattray Head to Berwick upon Tweed (2)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- North or northeast 2 to 4, becoming variable 3 or less for a time.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate, becoming smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Fog patches.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- North or northeast 2 to 4, becoming variable 3 or less later.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Fog patches until later.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally very poor until later.
Berwick upon Tweed to Whitby (3)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Variable 3 or less, becoming north or northwest 2 to 4 later, occasionally 5 later.
- Sea state
- Slight, occasionally moderate at first.
- Weather
- Fog patches.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- North or northwest veering northeast later, 2 to 4, occasionally 5 at first.
- Sea state
- Slight, occasionally smooth.
- Weather
- Fog patches.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.
Whitby to Gibraltar Point (4)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Variable becoming northerly or northwesterly, 2 to 4, occasionally 5 later in north.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Fog patches.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Northerly or northwesterly 2 to 4, occasionally 5 in north.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Fog patches.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.
Gibraltar Point to North Foreland (5)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Variable 3 or less, becoming northerly or northwesterly 2 to 4, occasionally 5 later.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Showers, perhaps thundery, fog patches.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Northerly or northeasterly 2 to 4, occasionally 5 later.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Showers and fog patches.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.
North Foreland to Selsey Bill (6)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Variable, mainly westerly or southwesterly until later, 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Showers, perhaps thundery, fog patches in the east.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally very poor in east.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Variable, becoming northerly or northeasterly, 2 to 4, occasionally 5 later in east.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Showers for a time, perhaps thundery.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor.
Selsey Bill to Lyme Regis (7)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Variable 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Showers later, perhaps thundery.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Variable 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Showers for a time, perhaps thundery.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor.
Lyme Regis to Lands End including the Isles of Scilly (8)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Variable becoming north or northwest later, 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight, occasionally moderate in far west.
- Weather
- Fair, showers later, perhaps thundery.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor later.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- North or northwest becoming variable later, 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight, occasionally moderate at first in far west.
- Weather
- Showers for a time, perhaps thundery.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor.
Lands End to St Davids Head including the Bristol Channel (9)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Variable becoming north or northwest later, 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight, occasionally moderate in far southwest.
- Weather
- Mainly fair, showers and fog patches later.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally very poor later.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Northerly or northwesterly veering northeasterly, 2 to 4, occasionally 5 in north.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Showers, perhaps thundery.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor.
St Davids Head to Great Orme Head, including St Georges Channel (10)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Variable becoming north or northwest 2 to 4, occasionally 5 later.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Fog patches.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- North or northwest 2 to 4, occasionally 5 at first.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight, occasionally moderate in north.
- Weather
- Showers and fog patches.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.
Great Orme Head to the Mull of Galloway (11)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Variable becoming north or northwest later, 2 to 4, occasionally 5 later.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Mainly fair.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Northerly or northwesterly 3 to 5, occasionally 6 at first in north, becoming variable 2 to 4 later.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight, occasionally moderate in west.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good.
Isle of Man (12)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Variable 3 or less, becoming north or northwest 3 or 4, occasionally 5 later.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Fair.
- Visibility
- Good.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- North or northwest 3 or 4, increasing 4 or 5 for a time.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight, becoming slight or moderate for a time.
- Weather
- Fair.
- Visibility
- Good.
Lough Foyle to Carlingford Lough (13)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Variable 2 to 4 at first in south, otherwise northerly or northwesterly 3 to 5, occasionally 6 later in north.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight, occasionally moderate in north.
- Weather
- Showers at first.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Northerly or northwesterly 3 to 5, occasionally 6 at first in north.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate, occasionally smooth in south.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good.
Mull of Galloway to Mull of Kintyre including the Firth of Clyde and North Channel (14)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Northwesterly 3 to 5 in North Channel, occasionally 6 later in North Channel, otherwise variable 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Showers later.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate later.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Northwesterly 4 to 6 in North Channel, otherwise variable 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight, becoming moderate for a time in North Channel.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good.
Mull of Kintyre to Ardnamurchan Point (15)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- North or northwest 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate, but smooth in shelter.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- North or northwest 3 to 5, becoming variable 2 to 4 later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate, but smooth in shelter.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good.
The Minch (16)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Northerly 3 to 5, occasionally 6 at first in south, becoming variable 2 to 4 later.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight, occasionally moderate near south and north entrances.
- Weather
- Showers then mainly fair.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Variable 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight, occasionally moderate near south and north entrances.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good.
Ardnamurchan Point to Cape Wrath (17)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Northerly 3 to 5, occasionally 6 at first in south, becoming variable 2 to 4 later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Showers then mainly fair.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Variable 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good.
Shetland Isles (18)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Southeast veering southwest then veering northwest later, 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Mainly fair, fog patches later.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally very poor later.
For Coastal areas up to 60 nautical miles from Lerwick, Shetland (18)
Valid Friday 17 May 2024 at 1200 UTC until Saturday 18 May 2024 at 0000 UTC
General situation
A southeasterly flow will persist across Shetland Waters.
Forecast
- Wind
- Southeast 3 or 4, veering southwest 2 to 4 later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Fair
- Visibility
- Good
Outlook for 12 Hours from 0000 UTC on Saturday 18 May until 1200 UTC on Saturday 18 May
- Wind
- Southwest veering northwest, 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Mainly fair, fog patches later
- Visibility
- Good, poor or v poor later
Channel Islands (19)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Northeast 2 to 4, locally variable 1 to 3 early afternoon, becoming generally variable 1 to 3 late evening, mainly northerly by dawn tomorrow, mainly westerly by late morning.
- Sea state
- Smooth, with a low swell developing, locally slight at times.
- Weather
- Isolated showers near french coasts, dying out by dusk rain or showers from mid-morning tomorrow.
- Visibility
- Good, locally moderate at times.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Northwesterly 2 to 3, increasing 3 to 4 by late afternoon, becoming variable 1 to 3 overnight, mainly northerly by midday Sunday.
- Sea state
- Smooth, with a low swell diminishing, locally slight at times.
- Weather
- Rain or showers, clearing by dusk local mist and a risk of fog patches, mainly in the far north of the area.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate, locally poor or perhaps very poor at times.
The inshore waters forecast information
Forecasts for UK inshore waters are issued four times a day and cover a period of 24 hours from 0000, 0600, 1200 and 1800 UTC.
The coastal waters around the British Isles are divided into 19 areas which extend up to 12 nautical miles offshore.
The forecast contains details of wind direction and force, sea state, weather and visibility.
Strong coastal winds (force 6 or more) are displayed for the first 24 hours of the inshore waters forecast.
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.