Coast and sea

Inshore waters and strong winds

General situation

Low pressure will remain centred to the north or west of the United Kingdom, to give a brisk and showery southerly flow. Both the wind and shower activity generally easing into the weekend as the flow changes southeasterly.

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
Southwest backing southeast 3 or 4, occasionally 5 at first.
Sea state
Moderate or rough, but slight or moderate in Moray Firth.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Good.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Southeast 2 to 4, becoming variable 1 to 3.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Showers at first.
Visibility
Good.

Rattray Head to Berwick upon Tweed (2)

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Southwest becoming variable 2 to 4, then becoming south 3 to 5 later.
Sea state
Slight or moderate, but moderate or rough near Rattray Head.
Weather
Showers, fair later.
Visibility
Good.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
South 3 or 4, becoming variable 1 to 3.
Sea state
Slight or moderate, but smooth or slight later in south.
Weather
Showers at first.
Visibility
Good.

Berwick upon Tweed to Whitby (3)

24 hour forecast:

Wind
South 4 or 5, backing southeast 3 or 4 later.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Showers, perhaps thundery at first, fair later.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate at first.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Southeast 3 or 4, becoming variable 1 to 3, then east 2 to 4 later.
Sea state
Moderate becoming slight.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

Whitby to Gibraltar Point (4)

24 hour forecast:

Wind
South 4 or 5, becoming variable 2 or 3 later.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Thundery showers at first.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate at first.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Variable 1 to 3, becoming east 2 to 4 later.
Sea state
Slight, but moderate at first near Whitby.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

Gibraltar Point to North Foreland (5)

Strong winds are forecast

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Southerly 5 or 6, decreasing 3 or 4, then becoming variable 1 to 3 later.
Sea state
Slight or moderate, but smooth or slight later.
Weather
Thundery showers at first, occasional rain later in east.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Variable 1 to 3, becoming northeasterly 3 or 4 later.
Sea state
Smooth or slight.
Weather
Rain or showers at first.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate at first.

North Foreland to Selsey Bill (6)

Strong winds are forecast

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Southwesterly 5 to 7, backing southerly 3 or 4, then becoming variable 1 to 3 later.
Sea state
Moderate, occasionally rough at first, becoming slight later.
Weather
Thundery showers at first, occasional rain later in east.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Variable 1 to 3, becoming easterly or northeasterly 3 or 4, occasionally 5 later.
Sea state
Slight, occasionally smooth in east.
Weather
Rain or showers at first in east.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate at first.

Selsey Bill to Lyme Regis (7)

Strong winds are forecast

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Southwest 5 to 7, backing south 4 or 5, then decreasing 2 or 3 later.
Sea state
Moderate, occasionally rough at first, becoming slight later near shore.
Weather
Showers, thundery at first, fair later.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate at first.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
South 2 or 3, backing east 3 to 5.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Showers for a time.
Visibility
Good.

Lyme Regis to Lands End including the Isles of Scilly (8)

Strong winds are forecast

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Southwest 6 or 7, decreasing 4 or 5, then backing south later.
Sea state
Very rough at first in far west, otherwise moderate or rough, becoming slight later in Lyme Bay.
Weather
Showers, thundery at first.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate at first.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
South 4 or 5, backing southeast 5 or 6, then backing east 4 or 5 later.
Sea state
Moderate or rough in west, slight or moderate in east.
Weather
Showers, thundery at first in west.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor at first in west.

Lands End to St Davids Head including the Bristol Channel (9)

Strong winds are forecast

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Southwest 6 or 7, decreasing 4 or 5, then backing south or southeast later.
Sea state
Moderate or rough in west, slight or moderate in east.
Weather
Showers, thundery at first.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate at first.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
South 4 or 5, backing southeast 5 or 6, then backing east 4 or 5 later.
Sea state
Moderate or rough in far southwest, otherwise slight or moderate.
Weather
Showers, thundery for a time in west.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor in west.

St Davids Head to Great Orme Head, including St Georges Channel (10)

Strong winds are forecast

24 hour forecast:

Wind
South or southwest 5 or 6, backing southeast 4 or 5 later.
Sea state
Moderate or rough in far southwest, otherwise slight or moderate.
Weather
Showers, thundery at first.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate at first.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Southeasterly 4 or 5, occasionally 6 in southwest.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Showers, fair later.
Visibility
Good.

Great Orme Head to the Mull of Galloway (11)

Strong winds are forecast

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Southeast 3 to 5, veering south 4 to 6, then backing southeast 3 or 4 later.
Sea state
Slight, occasionally moderate in north.
Weather
Showers, thundery at first.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate at first.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
East or southeast 3 or 4, occasionally 5 later.
Sea state
Smooth or slight.
Weather
Showers at first.
Visibility
Good.

Isle of Man (12)

24 hour forecast:

Wind
South or southwest 4 or 5, occasionally 3 later.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Showers, fair later.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
South backing east 3 or 4, occasionally 5 later.
Sea state
Slight, occasionally moderate later.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

Lough Foyle to Carlingford Lough (13)

24 hour forecast:

Wind
South or southeast 4 or 5, occasionally 3 at first.
Sea state
Slight, occasionally moderate.
Weather
Showers, perhaps thundery at first.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate at first.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Southeast 3 to 5.
Sea state
Slight, occasionally moderate.
Weather
Showers, fair later.
Visibility
Good.

Mull of Galloway to Mull of Kintyre including the Firth of Clyde and North Channel (14)

24 hour forecast:

Wind
South or southeast 4 or 5, occasionally 3 at first.
Sea state
Slight or moderate in North Channel, otherwise smooth or slight.
Weather
Showers, perhaps thundery at first.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate at first.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
East or southeast 3 to 5.
Sea state
Slight or moderate in North Channel, otherwise smooth or slight.
Weather
Showers at first.
Visibility
Good.

Mull of Kintyre to Ardnamurchan Point (15)

24 hour forecast:

Wind
South or southeast 3 or 4, occasionally 5 later.
Sea state
Slight or moderate, but smooth in shelter.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Good.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
South or southeast, backing east later, 3 to 5.
Sea state
Slight or moderate, but smooth in shelter.
Weather
Showers, fair later.
Visibility
Good.

The Minch (16)

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Southwest backing south 3 to 5.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Good.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
South backing southeast 3 or 4, occasionally 5 at first, backing east later.
Sea state
Slight or moderate, but smooth in shelter.
Weather
Showers, fair later.
Visibility
Good.

Ardnamurchan Point to Cape Wrath (17)

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Southwest backing south 3 to 5.
Sea state
Moderate or rough.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Good.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
South backing southeast 3 or 4, occasionally 5 at first, backing east later.
Sea state
Moderate, occasionally rough.
Weather
Showers, fair later.
Visibility
Good.

Shetland Isles (18)

24 hour forecast:

Wind
South or southeast 3 to 5.
Sea state
Moderate or rough.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate.

For Coastal areas up to 60 nautical miles from Lerwick, Shetland (18)

Strong wind warning

Valid Friday 29 Mar 2024 at 1200 UTC until Saturday 30 Mar 2024 at 0000 UTC

General situation

A low over the North Sea will move over Shetland Waters on Friday afternoon then westwards into the Atlantic.

Forecast

Wind
Cyclonic 3 to 5, becoming south 4 or 5 later
Sea state
Moderate or rough, but very rough in far northwest at first
Weather
Showers
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally poor at first

Outlook for 12 Hours from 0000 UTC on Saturday 30 Mar until 1200 UTC on Saturday 30 Mar

Wind
South becoming cyclonic, 3 to 5
Sea state
Moderate or rough
Weather
Showers
Visibility
Moderate or good

Channel Islands (19)

Strong winds are forecast

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Southwesterly 4 to 6, with gusts to 40kt possible near showers early afternoon, decreasing 3 to 5 by dusk, backing southerly 2 to 4 by dawn, then southeasterly later.
Sea state
Rather rough to rough in the north of the area until early evening, otherwise slight to moderate, decreasing smooth to slight by dawn tomorrow a low swell throughout.
Weather
Isolated showers, perhaps locally heavy early afternoon, likely dying out by midnight.
Visibility
Good, locally moderate at first.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Southeast to east 2 to 4, increasing 3 to 5 by dusk, backing east to northeast 4 to 6 late morning Sunday.
Sea state
Smooth to slight, increasing moderate mid-channel towards late morning Sunday a low swell throughout.
Weather
Scattered showers, perhaps locally heavy, crossing the area northwards late afternoon and evening developing again in the south of the area late morning Sunday.
Visibility
Good, locally moderate at times.

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.

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