Coast and sea
General situation
Conditions will remain unsettled and often windy during the next couple of days with a west to southwesterly airflow bringing showers or longer spells of rain at times.
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)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- South or southeast 4 to 6, veering west or southwest 5 to 7.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate, occasionally rough later in north.
- Weather
- Rain then showers, perhaps thundery for a time.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- West or southwest 5 to 7.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate, occasionally rough.
- Weather
- Showers, perhaps thundery for a time.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Rattray Head to Berwick upon Tweed (2)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- South or southwest, veering west, 5 to 7 later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Rain then showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- West or southwest 5 to 7.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Berwick upon Tweed to Whitby (3)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- West or southwest 4 or 5, occasionally 6 later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate, becoming smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Rain then showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- West or southwest 4 to 6, occasionally 7 later.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight, occasionally moderate later.
- Weather
- Occasional rain at first.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate at first.
Whitby to Gibraltar Point (4)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- West or southwest 4 to 6.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Showers later.
- Visibility
- Good.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- West or southwest 4 to 6.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight, occasionally moderate later.
- Weather
- Occasional rain at first.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate at first.
Gibraltar Point to North Foreland (5)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Westerly or southwesterly 4 to 6.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight, occasionally moderate for a time.
- Weather
- Showers later.
- Visibility
- Good.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Westerly or southwesterly 4 or 5, occasionally 6 later.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight, occasionally moderate later.
- Weather
- Mainly fair.
- Visibility
- Good.
North Foreland to Selsey Bill (6)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Westerly or southwesterly 4 to 6, occasionally 7 later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Rain or showers at first.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate at first.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Westerly or southwesterly 4 to 6, occasionally 7 at first, veering northwest 2 to 4 later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Mainly fair.
- Visibility
- Good.
Selsey Bill to Lyme Regis (7)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- West or southwest 4 to 6.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Occasional rain.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Southwest 4 to 6, veering northwest 2 to 4 later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Occasional rain or drizzle.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Lyme Regis to Lands End including the Isles of Scilly (8)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- West or southwest 4 or 5, occasionally 6 at first.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate, becoming rough in west.
- Weather
- Occasional rain.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- West or southwest 3 to 5, veering northwest 2 to 4 later.
- Sea state
- Rough at first in west, otherwise slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Occasional rain or drizzle.
- Visibility
- Good occasionally poor.
Lands End to St Davids Head including the Bristol Channel (9)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- West or southwest 4 to 6.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough.
- Weather
- Occasional rain.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- West or southwest 3 to 5, veering northwest 2 to 4 later.
- Sea state
- Moderate, occasionally rough at first in west, becoming slight later in Bristol Channel.
- Weather
- Occasional rain or drizzle.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
St Davids Head to Great Orme Head, including St Georges Channel (10)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- West or southwest 4 to 6, occasionally 7 at first.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Occasional rain.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Southwest 5 or 6, veering northwest 2 to 4 later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Rain or drizzle at first.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate at first.
Great Orme Head to the Mull of Galloway (11)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- West or southwest 4 to 6.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight, becoming slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Occasional rain.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Southwest 5 to 7, veering west 3 to 5 later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Rain or drizzle at first.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate at first.
Isle of Man (12)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- West or southwest 4 to 6.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Occasional rain.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Southwest, veering northwest later, 4 to 6.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Rain or drizzle at first.
- Visibility
- Good, becoming moderate at first.
Lough Foyle to Carlingford Lough (13)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- West or southwest 4 to 6.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Occasional rain.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- West or southwest 4 to 6, increasing 7 for a time.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate, becoming rough or very rough later in north.
- Weather
- Rain at first.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate at first.
Mull of Galloway to Mull of Kintyre including the Firth of Clyde and North Channel (14)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Westerly or southwesterly 4 to 6.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Rain then showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Southwesterly, veering westerly, 4 to 6, occasionally 7 later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate, occasionally moderate later in North Channel.
- Weather
- Rain becoming fair.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate at first.
Mull of Kintyre to Ardnamurchan Point (15)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- West or southwest 4 to 6.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough.
- Weather
- Rain then showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Southwest, veering west, 5 to 7, perhaps gale 8 for a time.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough, becoming very rough later in west.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good.
The Minch (16)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Southwest 4 to 6, veering west 5 to 7, perhaps gale 8 later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate, occasionally rough later in south.
- Weather
- Rain then showers, perhaps thundery for a time in north.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- West or southwest 6 to gale 8.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate, occasionally rough later in south and far north.
- Weather
- Showers, perhaps thundery for a time in north.
- Visibility
- Good, moderate.
Ardnamurchan Point to Cape Wrath (17)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Southwest 4 to 6, veering west 5 to 7, perhaps gale 8 later.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough.
- Weather
- Rain then showers, perhaps thundery for a time in north.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- West or southwest 6 to gale 8.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough, becoming rough or very rough, occasionally high for a time west of Hebrides.
- Weather
- Showers, perhaps thundery for a time in north.
- Visibility
- Good, moderate.
Shetland Isles (18)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- South 3 to 5, veering west 5 to 7.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate, becoming moderate or rough.
- Weather
- Rain or showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
For Coastal areas up to 60 nautical miles from Lerwick, Shetland (18)
Strong wind warning
Valid Wednesday 25 May 2022 at 0600 UTC until Wednesday 25 May 2022 at 1800 UTC
General situation
Low pressure moving over Iceland on Wednesday pushes associated fronts towards Shetland Waters.
Forecast
- Wind
- South or southeast 4 to 6, veering west or southwest and increasing 7 at times.
- Sea state
- Moderate, occasionally slight at first, increasing rough later in the southwest.
- Weather
- Rain or showers
- Visibility
- Moderate occasionally poor.
Outlook for 12 Hours from 1800 UTC on Wednesday 25 May until 0600 UTC on Thursday 26 May
- Wind
- Westerly or southwesterly 5 or 6, occasionally 7 at first in the south.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough.
- Weather
- Rain becoming mainly fair.
- Visibility
- Moderate becoming good.
Channel Islands (19)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Southwest 4 to 5, locally 6 from late morning until this evening, veering west this afternoon, decreasing 3 to 4 later.
- Sea state
- Slight to moderate with a low swell, increasing moderate to rather rough by midday, then decreasing slight to moderate again later.
- Weather
- Occasional rain and drizzle with a risk of mist patches from midday.
- Visibility
- Moderate to good, locally poor at times.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Westerly 3 to 4, locally 5 at times, veering northwest later.
- Sea state
- Slight to moderate with a low swell.
- Weather
- Patchy rain or drizzle at times with a risk of mist.
- Visibility
- Moderate to good, 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.
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.