Coast and sea

Shipping forecast and gale warnings

The general synopsis at 1800

Low Faeroes 1007 expected southern Norway 1007 by 1800 Tuesday. Low Spain 1012, slow moving, deepening 1007 by same time. New low expected just south of Iceland 1005 by that time

Issued at: 23:15 (UTC) on Mon 13 Jul 2020.

For the period 00:00 (UTC) on Tue 14 Jul 2020 to 00:00 (UTC) on Wed 15 Jul 2020.

Shipping forecast and gale warnings map

Shipping forecast and gale warnings explained

Viking

Wind: Southwesterly 3 or 4, becoming cyclonic 4 or 5.
Sea state: Slight or moderate.
Weather: Occasional rain or showers.
Visibility: Good, occasionally poor.

North Utsire

Wind: Southwesterly 3 or 4, becoming cyclonic 4 or 5.
Sea state: Slight or moderate.
Weather: Occasional rain or showers.
Visibility: Good, occasionally poor.

South Utsire

Wind: Southwesterly 3 or 4, becoming cyclonic 4 or 5.
Sea state: Slight or moderate.
Weather: Occasional rain or showers.
Visibility: Good, occasionally poor.

Forties

Wind: Cyclonic becoming west or northwest 4 or 5.
Sea state: Slight or moderate.
Weather: Showers.
Visibility: Good, occasionally moderate.

Cromarty

Wind: West 4 or 5, occasionally 6 at first, becoming variable 3 at times.
Sea state: Smooth or slight, becoming slight or moderate for a time.
Weather: Showers.
Visibility: Good.

Forth

Wind: West 4 or 5, occasionally 6 at first, becoming variable 3 at times.
Sea state: Smooth or slight, becoming slight or moderate for a time.
Weather: Showers.
Visibility: Good.

Tyne

Wind: West 4 or 5, occasionally 6 at first, becoming variable 3 at times.
Sea state: Smooth or slight, becoming slight or moderate for a time.
Weather: Showers.
Visibility: Good.

Dogger

Wind: Southwest veering northwest 4 or 5.
Sea state: Slight or moderate.
Weather: Occasional rain then showers.
Visibility: Good, occasionally poor at first.

Fisher

Wind: Southwest veering northwest 4 or 5.
Sea state: Slight or moderate.
Weather: Occasional rain then showers.
Visibility: Good, occasionally poor at first.

German Bight

Wind: Southwest veering northwest 4 or 5.
Sea state: Slight or moderate.
Weather: Occasional rain then showers.
Visibility: Good, occasionally poor at first.

Humber

Wind: Southwest veering northwest 4 or 5.
Sea state: Slight or moderate.
Weather: Occasional rain then showers.
Visibility: Good, occasionally poor at first.

Thames

Wind: Variable 3 or 4, becoming northerly 4 or 5 for a time.
Sea state: Slight.
Weather: Rain at first.
Visibility: Good, occasionally poor at first.

Dover

Wind: Southwest 4 or 5, becoming variable 3 or 4 later.
Sea state: Slight or moderate becoming smooth or slight.
Weather: Rain at first.
Visibility: Good, occasionally poor at first.

Wight

Wind: West veering northwest later, 4 or 5.
Sea state: Slight or moderate.
Weather: Showers at first.
Visibility: Good.

Portland

Wind: West 4 or 5, veering northwest 5 or 6.
Sea state: Slight or moderate.
Weather: Occasional rain later.
Visibility: Good.

Plymouth

Wind: West 4 or 5, veering northwest 5 or 6.
Sea state: Slight or moderate.
Weather: Occasional rain later.
Visibility: Good.

Biscay

Wind: North 4 or 5, occasionally 6 later.
Sea state: Slight or moderate.
Weather: Occasional rain or drizzle.
Visibility: Good, occasionally poor in north.

Trafalgar

Wind: Cyclonic in southeast, otherwise northerly 5 to 7, perhaps gale 8 later.
Sea state: Moderate or rough.
Weather: Mainly fair.
Visibility: Good, occasionally moderate.

FitzRoy

Wind: In south, northerly 5 to 7, perhaps gale 8 later. In north, northerly or northwesterly 4 or 5, occasionally 6 for a time.
Sea state: In south, moderate or rough. in north, moderate.
Weather: In south, mainly fair. In north, occasional drizzle.
Visibility: In south, good, occasionally moderate. In north, good, occasionally poor.

Sole

Wind: Northwest 4 or 5, increasing 6 at times.
Sea state: Slight or moderate.
Weather: Occasional rain or drizzle later.
Visibility: Good, occasionally poor later.

Lundy

Wind: Northwest 4 or 5, increasing 6 at times.
Sea state: Slight or moderate.
Weather: Occasional rain or drizzle later.
Visibility: Good, occasionally poor later.

Fastnet

Wind: Northwest 4 or 5, increasing 6 at times.
Sea state: Slight or moderate.
Weather: Occasional rain or drizzle later.
Visibility: Good, occasionally poor later.

Irish Sea

Wind: Northwesterly backing westerly 4 or 5, occasionally 6 in north.
Sea state: Slight, occasionally moderate.
Weather: Showers, rain later.
Visibility: Good, occasionally poor later.

Shannon

Wind: Northwest 4 or 5, occasionally 6 later.
Sea state: Moderate.
Weather: Occasional rain or drizzle.
Visibility: Good, occasionally moderate.

Rockall

Wind: West or northwest 5 or 6.
Sea state: Moderate or rough.
Weather: Showers then rain or drizzle.
Visibility: Good, becoming moderate or poor.

Malin

Wind: West or northwest 5 or 6.
Sea state: Moderate or rough.
Weather: Showers then rain or drizzle.
Visibility: Good, becoming moderate or poor.

Hebrides

Wind: West or northwest 5 or 6, backing south 3 or 4 for a time.
Sea state: Moderate or rough.
Weather: Occasional rain or showers.
Visibility: Good, occasionally poor.

Bailey

Wind: West or northwest 5 or 6, backing south 3 or 4 for a time.
Sea state: Moderate or rough.
Weather: Occasional rain or showers.
Visibility: Good, occasionally poor.

Fair Isle

Wind: In south, westerly 5 or 6, decreasing 3 or 4. In north, cyclonic 4 or 5.
Sea state: In south, moderate or rough. in north, slight or moderate.
Weather: In south, rain or showers. In north, occasional rain or showers, fog patches.
Visibility: In south, good, occasionally poor. In north, moderate or good, occasionally very poor.

Faeroes

Wind: Cyclonic 4 or 5.
Sea state: Slight or moderate.
Weather: Occasional rain or showers, fog patches.
Visibility: Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.

Southeast Iceland

Wind: Cyclonic 4 or 5.
Sea state: Slight or moderate.
Weather: Occasional rain or showers, fog patches.
Visibility: Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.

The shipping forecast is issued four times a day at 2300, 0500, 1100, 1700 UTC and covers a period of 24 hours from 0000, 0600, 1200 and 1800 UTC respectively.

The waters around the British Isles are divided into 31 sea areas shown on the map.

The forecast contains details of gale warnings in force, a general synopsis and sea-area forecasts containing wind direction and force, sea state, weather and visibility.

Gale warnings are issued as required throughout the day (for winds of Gale Force 8 or more).

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.