Coast and sea

Shipping forecast and gale warnings

The general synopsis at 1800

New low expected Southeast Iceland 968 by 1800 Saturday

Issued at: .

For the period to .

Shipping forecast and gale warnings map

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Viking

Gale warning
Issued:

Southerly gale force 8 expected later

Wind
Southerly or southwesterly 4 to 6, increasing 7 or gale 8 later, perhaps severe gale 9 later.
Sea state
Moderate or rough, becoming very rough later.
Weather
Rain or showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor.

North Utsire

Gale warning
Issued:

Southerly gale force 8 expected later

Wind
Southerly or southwesterly 4 to 6, increasing 7 or gale 8 later.
Sea state
Moderate or rough, becoming very rough later.
Weather
Rain or showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor.

South Utsire

Wind
Southerly veering westerly 4 to 6, backing southwesterly 5 to 7 later.
Sea state
Moderate or rough.
Weather
Rain then showers.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally poor.

Forties

Gale warning
Issued:

Southwesterly gale force 8 expected later

Wind
South or southwest 4 to 6 increasing 6 to gale 8, perhaps severe gale 9 later.
Sea state
Slight or moderate becoming moderate or rough, then becoming very rough later in north.
Weather
Rain later.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate.

Cromarty

Gale warning
Issued:

Southerly gale force 8 expected later

Wind
South or southwest 4 to 6 increasing 6 to gale 8, perhaps severe gale 9 later.
Sea state
Slight or moderate, becoming moderate or rough in east.
Weather
Rain later.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate.

Forth

Gale warning
Issued:

Southerly gale force 8 expected later

Wind
South or southwest 4 to 6 increasing 6 to gale 8, perhaps severe gale 9 later.
Sea state
Slight or moderate becoming moderate or rough.
Weather
Rain later.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate.

Tyne

Gale warning
Issued:

Southwesterly gale force 8 expected later

Wind
West or southwest 4 to 6, backing south or southwest 5 to 7 later, perhaps gale 8 later.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Rain later.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate later.

Dogger

Gale warning
Issued:

Southwesterly gale force 8 expected later

Wind
West or southwest 4 to 6, backing south or southwest 5 to 7 later, perhaps gale 8 later.
Sea state
Slight or moderate, becoming moderate or rough later.
Weather
Rain later.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate later.

Fisher

Wind
South veering west or southwest, 4 to 6.
Sea state
Slight or moderate, becoming moderate or rough later.
Weather
Occasional rain at first.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor at first.

German Bight

Wind
South veering west or southwest, 4 to 6.
Sea state
Slight or moderate, becoming moderate or rough later.
Weather
Occasional rain at first.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor at first.

Humber

Wind
West or southwest 4 to 6.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Occasional rain at first.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor at first.

Thames

Wind
Cyclonic 4 or 5 becoming variable 3 or less, then becoming southwesterly 3 to 5.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Moderate or good.

Dover

Wind
Variable 3 or less becoming southwesterly 3 to 5.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Moderate or good.

Wight

Wind
Variable 3 or less becoming southwesterly 3 to 5.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Moderate or good.

Portland

Wind
Variable 3 or less becoming southwesterly 3 to 5.
Sea state
Moderate or rough.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Moderate or good.

Plymouth

Wind
Variable 3 or less becoming southwesterly 3 to 5, increasing 6 later in northwest.
Sea state
Very rough becoming rough.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Moderate or good.

Biscay

Wind
Variable 2 to 4.
Sea state
Very rough, becoming rough later.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Moderate or good.

Trafalgar

Gale warning
Issued:

Northerly severe gale force 9 decreasing gale force 8 imminent

Wind
Northerly 7 to severe gale 9 at first in west, otherwise easterly or northeasterly 4 to 6, increasing 7 or gale 8 in far southeast.
Sea state
High at first in west, otherwise rough or very rough.
Weather
Thundery rain or showers.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally poor at first.

FitzRoy

Wind
In southeast, northeasterly 5 to 7, decreasing 3 or 4 later. In northwest, southwesterly 3 to 5, increasing 6 or 7 in far northwest.
Sea state
Very rough, becoming rough later except in far northwest.
Weather
In southeast, showers. In northwest, mainly fair.
Visibility
Moderate or good.

Sole

Gale warning
Issued:

Southwesterly gale force 8 expected later

Wind
Southwest 3 to 5 increasing 5 to 7, occasionally gale 8 later.
Sea state
Rough or very rough.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally poor later.

Lundy

Gale warning
Issued:

Southwesterly gale force 8 expected later

Wind
Southwest 3 to 5 increasing 5 to 7, perhaps gale 8 later.
Sea state
Rough or very rough in west, but in east, slight or moderate becoming moderate or rough.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally poor later.

Fastnet

Gale warning
Issued:

Southwesterly gale force 8 expected later

Wind
Southwest 3 to 5 increasing 5 to 7, perhaps gale 8 later.
Sea state
Rough or very rough.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally poor later.

Irish Sea

Gale warning
Issued:

Southwesterly gale force 8 expected later

Wind
Southwest 3 to 5 increasing 5 to 7, occasionally gale 8 later.
Sea state
Slight or moderate becoming moderate or rough.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally poor later.

Shannon

Gale warning
Issued:

Southwesterly gale force 8 increasing severe gale force 9 later

Wind
Southerly or southwesterly 6 to gale 8, occasionally severe gale 9 in north and west.
Sea state
Very rough or high.
Weather
Rain or showers.
Visibility
Moderate or poor.

Rockall

Gale warning
Issued:

Southwesterly gale force 8 increasing severe gale force 9 later

Wind
Southerly or southwesterly 6 to gale 8, occasionally severe gale 9.
Sea state
Very rough or high.
Weather
Rain or showers.
Visibility
Moderate or poor.

Malin

Gale warning
Issued:

Southwesterly gale force 8 increasing severe gale force 9 later

Wind
Southerly or southwesterly 6 to gale 8, occasionally severe gale 9.
Sea state
Very rough or high.
Weather
Rain or showers.
Visibility
Moderate or poor.

Hebrides

Gale warning
Issued:

Gale force 8 backing southerly and increasing severe gale force 9 imminent, veering southwesterly and increasing storm force 10 soon

Wind
Southerly or southwesterly 6 to gale 8, occasionally severe gale 9, perhaps storm 10 later.
Sea state
Very rough or high.
Weather
Rain or showers.
Visibility
Moderate or poor.

Bailey

Gale warning
Issued:

Southwesterly severe gale force 9 decreasing gale force 8 imminent, backing southerly and increasing severe gale force 9 soon

Wind
Southerly or southwesterly 6 to gale 8, occasionally severe gale 9.
Sea state
Very high at first in north, otherwise very rough or high.
Weather
Rain or showers.
Visibility
Moderate or poor.

Fair Isle

Gale warning
Issued:

Gale force 8 backing southerly and increasing storm force 10 soon

Wind
Southerly or southwesterly 6 to gale 8, occasionally severe gale 9, perhaps storm 10 later.
Sea state
Rough or very rough in southeast, very rough or high in northwest.
Weather
Rain or showers.
Visibility
Moderate or poor, occasionally good in southeast.

Faeroes

Gale warning
Issued:

Southerly gale force 8 veering southwesterly soon and increasing severe gale force 9 later

Wind
Southerly or southwesterly 6 to gale 8, occasionally severe gale 9.
Sea state
Very rough or high.
Weather
Rain or showers.
Visibility
Moderate or poor.

Southeast Iceland

Gale warning
Issued:

Southwesterly gale force 8 increasing storm force 10 later

Wind
Southwesterly 7 to severe gale 9 becoming cyclonic 4 to 6, becoming southwesterly 7 to severe gale 9 again later in south.
Sea state
High or very high becoming very rough or high, but becoming rough near the coast.
Weather
Squally thundery showers, then rain.
Visibility
Poor, 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.