Coast and sea

Shipping forecast and gale warnings

The general synopsis at midnight

Low Germany 1000 expected south Baltic sea 1001 by midnight tonight. New low expected Thames 1013

Issued at: .

For the period to .

Shipping forecast and gale warnings map

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Viking

Wind
Northeasterly 4 to 6, backing northerly or northwesterly 4 later.
Sea state
Moderate or rough, occasionally very rough at first in west.
Weather
Snow showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor.

North Utsire

Wind
Northeasterly 4 to 6, backing northerly or northwesterly 4 later.
Sea state
Moderate or rough.
Weather
Snow showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor.

South Utsire

Wind
Northeasterly 4 to 6, backing northerly or northwesterly 4 later.
Sea state
Moderate or rough.
Weather
Snow showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor.

Forties

Wind
Northerly or northeasterly, 4 to 6, occasionally 7 at first in west.
Sea state
Rough, becoming moderate or rough.
Weather
Squally wintry showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor.

Cromarty

Gale warning
Issued:

Northerly gale force 8 continue

Wind
North or northwest 6 to gale 8, decreasing 4 or 5.
Sea state
Rough or very rough, becoming moderate or rough, then slight or moderate later.
Weather
Squally wintry showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor.

Forth

Gale warning
Issued:

Northerly gale force 8 continue

Wind
North or northwest 6 to gale 8, decreasing 4 or 5.
Sea state
Rough or very rough, becoming moderate or rough, then slight or moderate later.
Weather
Squally wintry showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor.

Tyne

Gale warning
Issued:

Northerly gale force 8 continue

Wind
North or northwest 6 to gale 8, decreasing 4 or 5.
Sea state
Rough or very rough, becoming moderate or rough, then slight or moderate later.
Weather
Squally wintry showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor.

Dogger

Wind
North or northeast, backing northwest later, 3 to 5.
Sea state
Moderate or rough until later, otherwise slight or moderate.
Weather
Wintry showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor.

Fisher

Wind
North or northeast, backing northwest later, 3 to 5.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Wintry showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor.

German Bight

Wind
North or northeast, backing northwest later, 3 to 5.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Wintry showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor.

Humber

Wind
North, becoming cyclonic, then northeast later, 4 to 6, occasionally 7 later.
Sea state
Moderate or rough, becoming slight or moderate.
Weather
Wintry showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor.

Thames

Wind
North, becoming cyclonic, then northeast later, 4 to 6, occasionally 7 later.
Sea state
Moderate or rough, becoming slight or moderate.
Weather
Wintry showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor.

Dover

Wind
North or northwest 4 to 6, occasionally 7 later, perhaps gale 8 later.
Sea state
Slight or moderate, occasionally rough later.
Weather
Showers, perhaps wintry.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor.

Wight

Wind
North or northwest 4 to 6, occasionally 7 later, perhaps gale 8 later.
Sea state
Slight or moderate, occasionally rough later.
Weather
Showers, perhaps wintry.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor.

Portland

Wind
North or northwest 4 to 6.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Showers, wintry.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor.

Plymouth

Wind
North or northwest 4 to 6.
Sea state
Moderate or rough.
Weather
Showers, wintry.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor.

Biscay

Wind
North or northwest 4 to 6.
Sea state
Moderate or rough.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor.

Trafalgar

Forecast issued:

Wind
North or northeast 4 to 6.
Sea state
Slight or moderate becoming moderate or rough.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Good.

FitzRoy

Wind
Northerly 4 to 6, becoming variable 3 or 4 later in west.
Sea state
Moderate or rough.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Good.

Sole

Wind
Northerly 4 to 6, becoming variable 3 or 4 later in west.
Sea state
Moderate or rough.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Good.

Lundy

Wind
North or northwest 4 to 6, occasionally 7 at first.
Sea state
Moderate or rough, becoming slight or moderate later.
Weather
Squally showers, occasionally wintry.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor.

Fastnet

Wind
North or northwest 4 to 6, occasionally 7 at first.
Sea state
Moderate or rough, becoming slight or moderate later.
Weather
Squally showers, occasionally wintry.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor.

Irish Sea

Wind
North or northwest 4 to 6, occasionally 7 at first.
Sea state
Moderate or rough, becoming slight or moderate later.
Weather
Squally showers, occasionally wintry.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor.

Shannon

Wind
Northerly 4 to 6, becoming variable 3 or 4, then southwesterly 5 to 7 later.
Sea state
Moderate or rough.
Weather
Showers, rain later.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor.

Rockall

Gale warning
Issued:

Southwesterly gale force 8 expected later

Wind
Northerly 4 to 6, becoming variable 3 or 4, then southwesterly 5 to 7 later, occasionally gale 8 later.
Sea state
Moderate or rough.
Weather
Showers, rain later.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor.

Malin

Wind
Northerly 4 to 6, becoming variable 3 or 4, then southwesterly 5 or 6 later.
Sea state
Moderate or rough.
Weather
Wintry showers at first.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor.

Hebrides

Wind
Northerly 4 to 6, becoming variable 3 or 4, then southwesterly 5 or 6 later.
Sea state
Rough or very rough at first, otherwise moderate or rough.
Weather
Wintry showers at first, rain later in north.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor.

Bailey

Gale warning
Issued:

Southwesterly gale force 8 expected later

Wind
Variable 3 or 4, becoming west or southwest 6 to gale 8.
Sea state
Rough, becoming moderate or rough, occasionally very rough later in north.
Weather
Rain later.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor later.

Fair Isle

Gale warning
Issued:

Northerly severe gale force 9 decreasing gale force 8 imminent

Wind
North, backing west or southwest later, 7 or gale 8 decreasing 4 to 6.
Sea state
Rough or very rough, becoming moderate or rough.
Weather
Snow showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally very poor.

Faeroes

Gale warning
Issued:

Southwesterly gale force 8 expected later

Wind
Cyclonic, but northerly at first, 4 to 6, increasing 6 to gale 8 later.
Sea state
Moderate or rough, occasionally very rough at first in east.
Weather
Rain later.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate later.

Southeast Iceland

Gale warning
Issued:

Southwesterly gale force 8 expected later

Wind
Cyclonic 4 to 6, increasing 6 to gale 8 later.
Sea state
Moderate or rough, occasionally very rough later.
Weather
Rain later.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate later.

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.