Coast and sea
The general synopsis at midnight
High south Biscay 1016 dissipating
Issued at: .
For the period to .
Shipping forecast and gale warnings map
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Viking
- Wind
- Variable 2 to 4 becoming northwesterly 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
North Utsire
- Wind
- Variable 2 to 4 becoming northwesterly 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
South Utsire
- Wind
- Variable 2 to 4 becoming northwesterly 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Forties
- Wind
- In east, variable 2 to 4 becoming northwesterly 3 to 5. In west, northwesterly 3 to 5 becoming variable 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- In east, good, occasionally moderate. In west, good, occasionally moderate.
Cromarty
- Wind
- Northwesterly 3 to 5 becoming variable 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate in east, smooth or slight in west.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Forth
- Wind
- Northwesterly 3 to 5 becoming variable 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Tyne
- Wind
- Northwesterly 3 to 5 becoming variable 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Dogger
- Wind
- In west, northwesterly 3 to 5 becoming variable 2 to 4. In east, variable 2 to 4 becoming northwesterly 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight, becoming slight or moderate later in east.
- Weather
- In west, showers. In east, occasional rain then showers.
- Visibility
- In west, good, occasionally moderate. In east, good, occasionally moderate at first.
Fisher
- Wind
- Variable 2 to 4 becoming northwesterly 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Occasional rain then showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate at first.
German Bight
- Wind
- In northwest, variable 2 to 4 becoming northwesterly 3 to 5. In southeast, northeasterly 3 to 5 backing northwesterly 3 or 4.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- In northwest, occasional rain then showers. In southeast, showers, thundery at first.
- Visibility
- In northwest, good, occasionally moderate at first. In southeast, good, occasionally moderate.
Humber
- Wind
- Northwest 3 or 4, occasionally 5 at first, then becoming variable 2 at times.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Thames
- Wind
- Northwest 3 or 4, occasionally 5 at first, then becoming variable 2 at times.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Dover
- Wind
- Northwest 3 or 4 becoming variable 2 at times.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Wight
- Wind
- Northwest 3 or 4 becoming variable 2 at times.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Portland
- Wind
- West or northwest 2 to 4 veering north or northwest 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight in north, slight or moderate in south.
- Weather
- Drizzle and fog patches at first.
- Visibility
- Moderate to very poor, becoming good.
Plymouth
- Wind
- West or northwest 2 to 4 veering north or northwest 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Drizzle and fog patches at first.
- Visibility
- Moderate to very poor, becoming good.
Biscay
- Wind
- Variable 2 to 4, becoming northerly 3 to 5 later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Drizzle or showers, perhaps thundery at first in south.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Trafalgar
Forecast issued:
- Wind
- Northerly or northwesterly 3 to 5, occasionally 6 later in southeast.
- Sea state
- Moderate, occasionally slight in southeast.
- Weather
- Rain at times, becoming fair later.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
FitzRoy
- Wind
- In southeast, variable 2 to 4, becoming northerly 3 to 5 later. In northwest, northerly or northwesterly, backing westerly or northwesterly later, 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- In southeast, slight or moderate. in northwest, moderate or rough.
- Weather
- In southeast, drizzle or showers. In northwest, showers.
- Visibility
- In southeast, good, occasionally moderate. In northwest, good, occasionally moderate.
Sole
- Wind
- Northerly or northwesterly, backing westerly or northwesterly later, 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Lundy
- Wind
- Northerly or northwesterly, backing westerly or northwesterly later, 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Fastnet
- Wind
- Northerly or northwesterly, backing westerly or northwesterly later, 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Irish Sea
- Wind
- Northerly or northwesterly, backing westerly or northwesterly later, 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate becoming smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Shannon
- Wind
- North backing west or northwest, 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Rough becoming moderate.
- Weather
- Showers, then rain later.
- Visibility
- Good, becoming moderate or poor later.
Rockall
- Wind
- Northwest backing south or southwest, 3 to 5, veering west or northwest 4 to 6 later.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough.
- Weather
- Showers then rain, fog patches developing.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor at first and very poor later.
Malin
- Wind
- Northwest backing south or southwest, 3 to 5, veering west or northwest 4 to 6 later.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough becoming slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Showers then rain, fog patches developing.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor at first and very poor later.
Hebrides
- Wind
- Northwest backing south or southwest, 3 to 5, veering west or northwest 4 to 6 later.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough becoming slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Showers then rain, fog patches developing.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor at first and very poor later.
Bailey
- Wind
- Northwest backing south or southwest, 3 to 5, veering west or northwest 4 to 6 later.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough.
- Weather
- Showers then rain, fog patches developing.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor at first and very poor later.
Fair Isle
- Wind
- Westerly or northwesterly, backing southwesterly later in west, 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Rough at first in west, otherwise slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Showers, then rain later in west.
- Visibility
- Good occasionally moderate, then becoming moderate or poor later in west.
Faeroes
- Wind
- West or northwest backing south or southwest, 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Rough at first in south, otherwise slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Showers then fair, then rain and fog patches later.
- Visibility
- Good, becoming moderate to very poor later.
Southeast Iceland
- Wind
- Variable 2 to 4 becoming southerly 4 to 6, veering westerly or southwesterly 5 to 7 later.
- Sea state
- Moderate, occasionally slight near iceland.
- Weather
- Rain later, fog patches, especially in north.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.
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.