Marine forecasts guide

Help understanding the forecasts

There are four sets of forecasts/warnings:

• Shipping forecast/gale warnings
• Inshore waters forecast/strong winds
• High seas forecast/storm warnings
• Extended outlook

The panel opposite has details of how to view the forecasts.

Beaufort wind force scale
The Beaufort scale, which is used in Met Office marine forecasts, is an empirical measure for describing wind intensity based on observed sea conditions. The scale runs from force 0 (calm) to force 12 (Hurricane).

Glossary of terms used
Marine forecasts contain a number of terms which are used to convey specific meanings.

Broadcast times on BBC
BBC Radio 4 broadcasts weather bulletins daily on FM and long wave.

How to view the forecasts

This example shows the shipping forecast/gale warnings page. The notes below apply to all four marine forecasts.

A clickable map is used to display warnings. Areas of the map are coloured red when warnings are in force. Selecting an area on the map will display the forecast for that area in the table to the right of the map (2). The clickable map may not display on hand-held devices.

Forecasts/warnings in force are shown in the table. All areas are displayed when first loading the page. You can choose to select any individual area for display. Areas can be selected using the drop down box and clicking GO.

There is a printable view which contains the whole forecast (grouped conventionally).

This can be added to favourites / bookmarked and is recommended for use on hand-held devices for speed of download.

The updated time refers to the time when a new forecast has been issued.

The help buttons link to the guide (this page) and a key to the forecast areas:

Shipping forecast key
Inshore waters forecast key
High seas forecast key