Coast and sea
General situation
A ridge of high pressure to the southeast of the United Kingdom will gradually be replaced by low pressure in the north with some rain or showers here and across some other western areas, but remaining predominantly settled in the southeast. Winds will be mainly light or moderate across all areas.
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
- Southwesterly 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough to the north and west of Orkney, smooth or slight elsewhere.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Southwesterly 2 to 4, becoming variable 2 or 3.
- Sea state
- Mainly moderate to the north and west of Orkney, otherwise smooth or slight, occasionally moderate near Rattray Head.
- Weather
- Showers, mainly in the north.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate mainly in the north.
Rattray Head to Berwick upon Tweed (2)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- West or southwest 3 or 4.
- Sea state
- Slight, occasionally smooth in south.
- Weather
- Mainly fair.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- West or southwest 2 to 4, becoming variable 3 or less later.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight, occasionally moderate in north.
- Weather
- Mainly fair.
- Visibility
- Good.
Berwick upon Tweed to Whitby (3)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- West or southwest 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Occasional drizzle at first.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- West or southwest, 2 to 4, occasionally 5.
- Sea state
- Slight.
- Weather
- Fair then occasional rain.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good.
Whitby to Gibraltar Point (4)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- West or southwest 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Occasional rain or drizzle.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- West or southwest 3 or 4, becoming variable 3 or less.
- Sea state
- Slight.
- Weather
- Occasional rain or drizzle until later.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good.
Gibraltar Point to North Foreland (5)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Southwesterly, backing southeasterly later, 3 or 4.
- Sea state
- Smooth occasionally slight.
- Weather
- Occasional drizzle.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Southeasterly, 3 or 4, becoming variable 3 or less.
- Sea state
- Smooth occasionally slight.
- Weather
- Occasional drizzle.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
North Foreland to Selsey Bill (6)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Southerly, backing easterly or southeasterly, 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Fair.
- Visibility
- Good.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Easterly or southeasterly, backing northerly or northeasterly later, 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Occasional drizzle.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor.
Selsey Bill to Lyme Regis (7)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Variable, mainly south, becoming southeast, backing east later, 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Slight, occasionally moderate at first off shore.
- Weather
- Mainly fair.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- East or southeast, backing northeast, then north later, 3 or 4.
- Sea state
- Slight, occasionally smooth near shore.
- Weather
- Occasional rain or drizzle later.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor later.
Lyme Regis to Lands End including the Isles of Scilly (8)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Southeast, backing east later, 3 or 4.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Showers later.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- East, backing north or northeast, 3 or 4.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate, but smooth or slight in lyme bay.
- Weather
- Occasional rain or drizzle.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
Lands End to St Davids Head including the Bristol Channel (9)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- South or southeast 3 or 4, backing east 2 or 3 later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate, occasionally smooth in Bristol Channel.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- East or southeast, backing north or northeast, then northwest later, 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Slight, occasionally moderate in west and smooth in Bristol Channel.
- Weather
- Mainly fair.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good.
St Davids Head to Great Orme Head, including St Georges Channel (10)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- South or southwest, 3 or 4, occasionally 5 at first.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate, becoming smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Occasional rain or showers.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- South, becoming variable, then southwest later, 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Occasional rain or drizzle at first in south.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor at first in south.
Great Orme Head to the Mull of Galloway (11)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- South or southeast veering, southwest, 3 or 4, occasionally 5 at first.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Rain or drizzle at times.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Southwest, becoming variable for a time, 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Smooth occasionally slight.
- Weather
- Occasional drizzle.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
Isle of Man (12)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Variable 3 or less.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight slight or moderate, becoming slight.
- Weather
- Outbreaks of rain or drizzle, becoming fair later.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate or poor .
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Variable 3 or less, becoming west or southwest 4 or 5 later.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight, becoming slight or moderate later.
- Weather
- Rain or showers later.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate or poor later.
Lough Foyle to Carlingford Lough (13)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Southwest, 2 to 4, occasionally 5 later.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight, but slight or moderate in far north.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate at first.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- West or southwest 3 or 4, occasionally 5.
- Sea state
- Mainly moderate in far north, smooth or slight elsewhere.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Mull of Galloway to Mull of Kintyre including the Firth of Clyde and North Channel (14)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Southwesterly 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight, occasionally moderate near Mull of Kintyre.
- Weather
- Occasional rain or drizzle.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Westerly or southwesterly 2 to 4, occasionally 5 later.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight, occasionally moderate near Mull of Kintyre.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good.
Mull of Kintyre to Ardnamurchan Point (15)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- West or southwest, 3 or 4.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight east of islay and jura, otherwise moderate or rough, becoming slight or moderate later.
- Weather
- Occasional rain or drizzle later.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate or poor later.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Southwest 3 or 4, becoming cyclonic 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight east of islay and jura, otherwise slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Occasional rain or drizzle.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate or poor later.
The Minch (16)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- West or southwest 3 to 5, occasionally 6 later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate, but smooth or slight east of skye, occasionally rough at first in south.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Southwest c35, occasionally 6, becoming cyclonic then southeast 2 or 3 later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate, occasionally smooth near skye.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Ardnamurchan Point to Cape Wrath (17)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- West or southwest 3 to 5, occasionally 6 later.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Southwest c35, occasionally 6, becoming cyclonic then southeast 2 or 3 later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate between barra and canna, otherwise moderate or rough becoming slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Shetland Isles (18)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Southwest, 3 to 5, becoming variable 3 or less later.
- Sea state
- Moderate, occasionally rough until later in north and west.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good.
For Coastal areas up to 60 nautical miles from Lerwick, Shetland (18)
Valid Monday 20 Jan 2025 at 1800 UTC until Tuesday 21 Jan 2025 at 0600 UTC
General situation
An area of low pressure will move slowly northeast over Shetland Waters.
Forecast
- Wind
- Southwesterly 3 or 4, occasionally 5 at first in the west.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough
- Weather
- Mainly fair
- Visibility
- Mainly good
Outlook for 12 Hours from 0600 UTC on Tuesday 21 Jan until 1800 UTC on Tuesday 21 Jan
- Wind
- Southwest 3 or 4, becoming variable later.
- Sea state
- Moderate, rough in northwest.
- Weather
- Fair, rain later.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate or poor later.
Channel Islands (19)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Southeasterly 3 to 4, locally 2 at times.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight, with a low swell.
- Weather
- Mist patches and a risk of fog patches, especially near the french coast, mainly after midnight.
- Visibility
- Good, locally moderate to poor, perhaps locally very poor.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Southeast 2 to 4, becoming variable 1 to 3 overnight, backing north to northwest 3 to 4 by midday.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight, with a low and decreasing swell.
- Weather
- Occasional rain from mid-evening risk of local mist or fog patches.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate, perhaps locally poor or very poor.
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.