Coast and sea
General situation
A complex area of low pressure across Wales and southern England will move into the southern North Sea today. A weak ridge of high pressure will build from the west from tomorrow.
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
- Westerly 3 to 5 in north, variable 3 or less in south.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight, occasionally moderate at first in far northwest.
- Weather
- Occasional rain, mainly in north.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Variable 3 or less at first in south, otherwise westerly 3 or 4, backing southerly 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good.
Rattray Head to Berwick upon Tweed (2)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Variable, mainly southeasterly, 3 or less, occasionally 4 in north.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Fog patches for a time, showers later.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Variable 3 or less, becoming southerly or southwesterly, 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Showers until later.
- Visibility
- Good.
Berwick upon Tweed to Whitby (3)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Southeasterly 2 to 4, becoming variable 3 or less, then westerly 4 or 5 later in north.
- Sea state
- Slight.
- Weather
- Showers,.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Westerly 3 to 5, becoming variable 3 or less, then southeasterly 3 or 4 later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Mainly fair.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good.
Whitby to Gibraltar Point (4)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Easterly or southeasterly 3 or 4, occasionally 5 in south, backing northwesterly 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Slight.
- Weather
- Rain or showers, perhaps thundery, fair later.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Northwesterly 2 to 4, becoming variable 3 or less, then southeasterly 2 to 4 later.
- Sea state
- Slight.
- Weather
- Showers for a time.
- Visibility
- Good.
Gibraltar Point to North Foreland (5)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Cyclonic becoming southwesterly, 4 to 6, then veering westerly 3 or 4 later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Rain or showers, perhaps thundery at first, fair later.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Westerly, becoming variable, 3 or 4.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate, becoming smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Fair.
- Visibility
- Good.
North Foreland to Selsey Bill (6)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Southwesterly 5 to 7, veering westerly 3 or 4 later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Westerly 3 or 4, becoming variable 3 or less.
- Sea state
- Slight.
- Weather
- Fair.
- Visibility
- Good.
Selsey Bill to Lyme Regis (7)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- West or southwest 4 or 5, increasing 6 or 7, then veering northwest 3 or 4 later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Northwest 3 or 4, backing west 2 or 3, then becoming variable 3 or less.
- Sea state
- Slight.
- Weather
- Fair.
- Visibility
- Good.
Lyme Regis to Lands End including the Isles of Scilly (8)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Westerly 3 to 5, occasionally 6 in east.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Westerly or northwesterly 3 to 5, becoming variable, mainly southerly, 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate, becoming smooth in Lyme Bay.
- Weather
- Occasional rain later in west.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate later in west.
Lands End to St Davids Head including the Bristol Channel (9)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Westerly or northwesterly 3 to 5, increasing 6 for a time in north.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight in east, slight or moderate in west.
- Weather
- Showers at first.
- Visibility
- Good.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Westerly 4 or 5, becoming variable, mainly southerly in the west, 3 or 4.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight in east, slight or moderate in west.
- Weather
- Occasional rain later in west.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate later in west.
St Davids Head to Great Orme Head, including St Georges Channel (10)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- North or northwest 4 to 6, backing west or southwest 3 or 4.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight in north, slight or moderate in south.
- Weather
- Rain or showers at first.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor at first.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- West backing south, becoming variable at times, 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Fair.
- Visibility
- Good.
Great Orme Head to the Mull of Galloway (11)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Northerly or northwesterly 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Rain or showers at first, mainly in south.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Northwesterly 3 to 5, becoming variable 2 to 4, then southerly 3 or 4 later in west.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Fair.
- Visibility
- Good.
Isle of Man (12)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Northwest 3 to 5 becoming variable 3 or less later.
- Sea state
- Slight.
- Weather
- Patchy rain at first, then fair.
- Visibility
- Good.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Variable 3 or less, becoming south 4 or 5 later.
- Sea state
- Slight.
- Weather
- Fair.
- Visibility
- Good.
Lough Foyle to Carlingford Lough (13)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Variable 3 or less, becoming northwest 3 to 5 for a time.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Fair.
- Visibility
- Good.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Variable 2 to 4, becoming south 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate at first in North Channel, otherwise smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Rain later in northwest.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate later in northwest.
Mull of Galloway to Mull of Kintyre including the Firth of Clyde and North Channel (14)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Variable 3 or less, becoming northwesterly 3 or 4 for a time, occasionally 5 in North Channel.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Fair.
- Visibility
- Good.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Variable 2 to 4, becoming southerly 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate at first in North Channel, otherwise smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Rain later.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate later.
Mull of Kintyre to Ardnamurchan Point (15)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Northwest, backing southwest, 3 or 4.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Fair.
- Visibility
- Good.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Southwest, backing south, 3 or 4.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight, becoming slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Showers, rain later.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate later.
The Minch (16)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Variable, becoming mainly southwest, 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Mainly fair.
- Visibility
- Good.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Southwest 2 to 4, backing south 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight, occasionally moderate later in south.
- Weather
- Showers, rain later.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor later.
Ardnamurchan Point to Cape Wrath (17)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Variable, becoming mainly southwesterly, 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Rain or showers, mainly in north.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate in north.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Southwesterly 2 to 4, backing southerly 3 to 5, occasionally 6 later in west.
- Sea state
- Slight, becoming moderate later.
- Weather
- Showers, rain later.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor later.
Shetland Isles (18)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- South or southwest, 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Occasional rain or drizzle, fog patches.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.
For Coastal areas up to 60 nautical miles from Lerwick, Shetland (18)
Strong wind warning
Valid Tuesday 16 Jul 2024 at 0000 UTC until Tuesday 16 Jul 2024 at 1200 UTC
General situation
Slack area of low pressure will slowly track northwest through the forecast period.
Forecast
- Wind
- Cyclonic 2 to 4, becoming southwest 3 or 4.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Occasional rain or drizzle. Fog patches.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.
Outlook for 12 Hours from 1200 UTC on Tuesday 16 Jul until 0000 UTC on Wednesday 17 Jul
- Wind
- South or southwest 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Occasional rain or drizzle. Fog patches at first.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.
Channel Islands (19)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- West to southwest 4 to 5, perhaps locally 6 until mid-morning, veering northwest 3 to 4 by evening.
- Sea state
- Slight to moderate, with a developing swell.
- Weather
- Isolated showers, perhaps heavy, dying out by midday.
- Visibility
- Moderate to good.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Northwest 2 to 4, becoming variable 1 to 3 by dawn Wednesday.
- Sea state
- Moderate in the north at first, otherwise smooth to slight with a low swell.
- Weather
- Fair.
- Visibility
- Good.
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.
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