Coast and sea

Inshore waters and strong winds

General situation

A complex area of low pressure will drift away southwards across the Bay of Biscay. This will leave a slack pressure pattern over the United Kingdom during Friday and Saturday.

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
Variable 3 or less.
Sea state
Slight or moderate, occasionally smooth later.
Weather
Showers, wintry for a time.
Visibility
Good occasionally moderate.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Variable 3 or less.
Sea state
Smooth or slight, occasionally moderate at first in north.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Good.

Rattray Head to Berwick upon Tweed (2)

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Variable 3 or less.
Sea state
Moderate becoming slight.
Weather
Showers, wintry for a time.
Visibility
Good occasionally moderate.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
West or southwest 2 to 4.
Sea state
Slight occasionally smooth.
Weather
Showers then fair.
Visibility
Good.

Berwick upon Tweed to Whitby (3)

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Northeast 2 to 4, becoming variable 3 or less.
Sea state
Moderate becoming slight.
Weather
Wintry showers.
Visibility
Good occasionally moderate.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Variable 3 or less, becoming southwest 2 to 4 later.
Sea state
Slight.
Weather
Wintry showers then fair.
Visibility
Good occasionally moderate.

Whitby to Gibraltar Point (4)

24 hour forecast:

Wind
East or northeast 2 to 4, becoming variable 3 or less.
Sea state
Moderate becoming slight.
Weather
Wintry showers.
Visibility
Good occasionally moderate.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Variable 3 or less, becoming southwest 2 to 4 later.
Sea state
Slight, occasionally smooth later.
Weather
Wintry showers then mainly fair.
Visibility
Good occasionally poor.

Gibraltar Point to North Foreland (5)

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Northerly, veering easterly, 3 to 5, becoming variable 2 to 4 later.
Sea state
Moderate becoming slight, occasionally smooth later.
Weather
Wintry showers.
Visibility
Good occasionally moderate.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Variable 2 to 4.
Sea state
Smooth or slight.
Weather
Wintry showers then mainly fair.
Visibility
Good occasionally poor.

North Foreland to Selsey Bill (6)

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Northerly or northeasterly 3 to 5, backing northerly 2 to 4 later.
Sea state
Smooth or slight, occasionally moderate at first.
Weather
Wintry showers for a time in east.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate in east.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Northerly or northwesterly 2 to 4, backing southerly 4 or 5 later.
Sea state
Smooth becoming slight, occasionally moderate later in west.
Weather
Mainly fair.
Visibility
Good occasionally poor.

Selsey Bill to Lyme Regis (7)

Strong winds are forecast

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Northeast 4 or 5, occasionally 6 at first.
Sea state
Moderate becoming smooth or slight.
Weather
Showers at first.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate at first.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
North or northeast 2 to 4, occasionally 5 at first, backing south 4 to 6 later.
Sea state
Smooth becoming slight, occasionally moderate later.
Weather
Mainly fair, rain or showers later.
Visibility
Good occasionally poor.

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

Strong winds are forecast

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Northeast 6 or 7, decreasing 3 to 5, then becoming variable 2 to 4 later.
Sea state
Moderate or rough, becoming slight, occasionally smooth later.
Weather
Wintry showers then fair.
Visibility
Good occasionally moderate.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Variable 2 to 4, becoming cyclonic 3 to 5 later.
Sea state
Slight or moderate, occasionally smooth at first.
Weather
Fair then showers, occasional rain later.
Visibility
Good occasionally moderate.

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

Strong winds are forecast

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Northeast 4 or 5, occasionally 6 at first, becoming variable 3 or less later.
Sea state
Smooth or slight, occasionally moderate at first in west.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate at first near Lands End.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Variable 2 to 4, becoming cyclonic 3 to 5.
Sea state
Smooth or slight, occasionally moderate later.
Weather
Showers, occasional rain later.
Visibility
Good occasionally moderate.

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

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Northeast 2 to 4, occasionally 5 at first near St Davids Head, becoming variable 3 or less later.
Sea state
Smooth or slight, occasionally moderate at first near St Davids Head.
Weather
Fair then showers.
Visibility
Good.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Variable 2 to 4.
Sea state
Smooth or slight.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Good occasionally moderate.

Great Orme Head to the Mull of Galloway (11)

24 hour forecast:

Wind
East or northeast 2 to 4, becoming variable 3 or less.
Sea state
Smooth, occasionally slight at first.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Good.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Variable 2 to 4.
Sea state
Smooth occasionally slight.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Good occasionally moderate.

Isle of Man (12)

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Northeast 2 to 4, becoming variable 3 or less, then becoming south or southwest 2 to 4 later.
Sea state
Smooth or slight.
Weather
Showers later.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate later.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
South, veering west or southwest, 2 to 4.
Sea state
Smooth or slight.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Good occasionally moderate.

Lough Foyle to Carlingford Lough (13)

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Variable 2 to 4.
Sea state
Smooth or slight.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Good occasionally moderate.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Variable 2 to 4.
Sea state
Smooth or slight.
Weather
Showers, wintry for a time.
Visibility
Good occasionally moderate.

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

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Variable 2 to 4.
Sea state
Smooth or slight.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Good occasionally moderate.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Variable 2 to 4.
Sea state
Smooth or slight.
Weather
Showers, wintry for a time.
Visibility
Good occasionally moderate.

Mull of Kintyre to Ardnamurchan Point (15)

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Variable 2 to 4.
Sea state
Smooth or slight, occasionally moderate in far west.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Good occasionally moderate.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Variable 2 to 4.
Sea state
Smooth or slight, occasionally moderate at first in far west.
Weather
Showers, wintry for a time.
Visibility
Good occasionally moderate.

The Minch (16)

24 hour forecast:

Wind
North or northeast, becoming variable, 2 to 4.
Sea state
Moderate at first in far north, otherwise smooth or slight.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Good.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Variable 3 or less, occasionally 4 at first.
Sea state
Smooth or slight.
Weather
Showers, wintry for a time.
Visibility
Good occasionally moderate.

Ardnamurchan Point to Cape Wrath (17)

24 hour forecast:

Wind
North or northeast 2 to 4, occasionally 5 at first, becoming variable later.
Sea state
Moderate occasionally slight.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Good.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Variable 2 to 4.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Showers, wintry for a time.
Visibility
Good occasionally moderate.

Shetland Isles (18)

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Variable 2 to 4.
Sea state
Slight or moderate, occasionally smooth later.
Weather
Wintry showers.
Visibility
Good occasionally moderate.

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

Strong wind warning

Valid Friday 01 Dec 2023 at 0000 UTC until Friday 01 Dec 2023 at 1200 UTC

General situation

Shallow low pressure, centered just south of Shetland waters, remains slow moving through the next 24 hours.

Forecast

Wind
Northeasterly 4 or 5 in northwest at first, otherwise cyclonic 2 to 4
Sea state
Moderate, slight in sheltered waters south of shetland
Weather
Wintry showers
Visibility
Mainly good, occasionally poor

Outlook for 12 Hours from 1200 UTC on Friday 01 Dec until 0000 UTC on Saturday 02 Dec

Wind
Easterly or southeasterly 2 to 4, later becoming northeasterly 3 to 5 in north and variable 3 or less in southeast
Sea state
Slight or moderate
Weather
Wintry showers
Visibility
Mainly good, occasionally poor

Channel Islands (19)

Strong winds are forecast

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Easterly 3 to 5, but northeasterly 6 to 7 in the north of the area, becoming generally northeasterly 3 to 5 from dawn.
Sea state
Slight to moderate, but rather rough to rough in the northwest until dawn, becoming smooth or slight by dusk.
Weather
Showers, locally heavy, perhaps with hail.
Visibility
Good or very good, occasionally moderate, perhaps locally poor at times.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Northeast to north 3 to 5, becoming variable 1 to 3 from dawn, then south to southwest 3 to 4 by afternoon, increasing 4 to 6 in the evening.
Sea state
Smooth or slight, increasing slight to moderate later.
Weather
Showers, locally heavy, perhaps with hail.
Visibility
Good or very good, occasionally moderate, perhaps locally poor 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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