Marine forecasts guide

Help understanding the forecasts

There are three sets of forecasts/warnings:

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

Beaufort wind force scale
The Beaufort scale is an empirical measure for describing wind intensity based on observed sea conditions. The scale runs from force 0 (calm) to force 12 (Hurricane).
History of the Beaufort scale

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 Inshore waters forecast/strong wind warnings page. The notes below apply to all three marine forecasts.

Screenshot

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 and warning 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 are shown in the table. All areas are displayed when first loading the page. You can choose to select any individual area for display and can select between warnings only, forecast only or both warnings and forecast to be displayed. Areas can be selected using the drop down box and clicking GO.

There are separate printable views which contain the whole forecast (grouped conventionally) or all warnings.

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

The updated time refers to the time when either a forecast or a new warning has become available or a warning has expired.

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