Inshore Waters Forecast
Live • fetched from the Met Office • Southampton is in “Selsey Bill to Lyme Regis”
Valid 12:00 (UTC) on Mon 2 Nov 2026 to 12:00 (UTC) on Tue 3 Nov 2026 • Issued 12:00 (UTC) on Mon 2 Nov 2026 • Cached 15:12
|
Wind direction & Beaufort force (green = light, amber = moderate, red = strong/gale) |
Sea state (more/taller lines = rougher) |
Visibility (fewer/dashed bars = poorer) |
Map pin: our area / red = strong wind warning |
The Inshore Waters Forecast is a Met Office product, issued four times a day (0000, 0600, 1200 and 1800 UTC) on behalf of the Maritime & Coastguard Agency, covering the coastal waters of the entire British Isles out to 12 nautical miles offshore — divided into 19 named stretches of coast. Southampton and the Solent fall within “Selsey Bill to Lyme Regis”, highlighted above.
Map of the 19 Inshore Waters Areas
A real map of the UK, showing the reference point for each of the 19 Met Office inshore areas, numbered to match the table further down the page. Click a pin to jump to its row below, or click an area's name in the table to jump back up and zoom in on its pin. Selsey Bill to Lyme Regis (our area) is the larger blue pin; any area currently under a strong wind warning shows red.
Map: Leaflet | © OpenStreetMap contributors © CARTO
General Situation
High pressure centred to the north or northeast of the United Kingdom will bring strong northeasterly winds to southern waters, and lighter winds elsewhere. Most areas will see a lot of fair weather, however showers will affect some eastern and southeastern waters today, extending into southwestern waters on Tuesday.
How This Differs From The Shipping Forecast
Both come from the Met Office on behalf of the Maritime & Coastguard Agency, and both cover wind, sea state, weather and visibility — but they're aimed at different audiences. The Shipping Forecast covers large open-sea areas (like “Wight”, which stretches well out into the Channel) aimed at commercial and larger vessels further from land. The Inshore Waters Forecast instead covers a narrow strip hugging the coast — out to 12 nautical miles — split into far more, smaller areas, making it more locally relevant for the kind of sailing, fishing and leisure boating that actually happens close to shore. A force 6 gale well out in sea area Wight might barely trouble the sheltered waters of Southampton Water itself — this forecast is the one that actually reflects that.
All Inshore Areas (Next 24 Hours)
| Area | Conditions | 24 Hour Forecast |
| 1. Cape Wrath to Rattray Head including Orkney | Westerly or northwesterly 3 or 4, occasionally 5 at first in east, becoming variable 2 to 4. Smooth or slight, but slight or moderate in northwest. Showers. Good occasionally moderate. | |
| 2. Rattray Head to Berwick upon Tweed | Westerly or northwesterly 3 to 5, becoming variable 2 to 4. Smooth or slight, but slight or moderate at first near Rattray Head. Showers. Good occasionally moderate. | |
| 3. Berwick upon Tweed to Whitby | North or northwest 3 to 5, veering northeast 3 or 4. Moderate occasionally slight. Fair then showers. Good occasionally moderate. | |
|
4. Whitby to Gibraltar Point Strong wind warning |
Northerly veering northeasterly 4 or 5, occasionally 6 in south. Moderate. Showers. Good occasionally moderate. | |
|
5. Gibraltar Point to North Foreland Strong wind warning |
Northeasterly 4 to 6, occasionally 7 near North Foreland. Moderate, occasionally slight in the wash, becoming moderate or rough for a time in east. Showers. Good, occasionally moderate. | |
|
6. North Foreland to Selsey Bill Strong wind warning |
Northeasterly 5 to 7. Slight or moderate. Showers. Good, occasionally moderate. | |
|
7. Selsey Bill to Lyme Regis Strong wind warning |
Northeast 4 to 6. Slight or moderate, but smooth or slight at first in lyme bay. Showers later in east. Good, occasionally moderate later in east. | |
|
8. Lyme Regis to Lands End including the Isles of Scilly Strong wind warning |
Northeast 4 to 6. Smooth or slight at first in lyme bay, otherwise slight or moderate, becoming moderate later. Fair. Good. | |
|
9. Lands End to St Davids Head including the Bristol Channel Strong wind warning |
Northeast 4 or 5, occasionally 6 later. Slight or moderate in west, smooth or slight in east. Mainly fair. Good. | |
| 10. St Davids Head to Great Orme Head, including St Georges Channel | Northeast 3 to 5. Smooth or slight. Showers later, mainly in north. Good. | |
| 11. Great Orme Head to the Mull of Galloway | Northeasterly 3 or 4, occasionally 5 later in south. Smooth occasionally slight. Mainly fair. Good. | |
| 12. Isle of Man | Mainly northeast 3 or 4. Slight. Fair. Good. | |
| 13. Lough Foyle to Carlingford Lough | Variable, becoming easterly or southeasterly later, 2 to 4. Smooth or slight, but slight or moderate at first in north. Mainly fair. Good. | |
| 14. Mull of Galloway to Mull of Kintyre including the Firth of Clyde and North Channel | Variable, becoming easterly later, 2 to 4. Smooth, but smooth or slight in the North Channel. Fair. Good, occasionally moderate later. | |
| 15. Mull of Kintyre to Ardnamurchan Point | Variable, becoming mainly south or southeast, 2 to 4. Slight or moderate, but smooth or slight in southeast. Showers at first. Good, occasionally moderate at first. | |
| 16. The Minch | Variable 3 or less. Smooth or slight, but slight occasionally moderate near entrances. Mainly fair. Good occasionally moderate. | |
| 17. Ardnamurchan Point to Cape Wrath | Variable 2 to 4. Moderate occasionally slight. Mainly fair. Good occasionally moderate. | |
| 18. Shetland Isles | Northwest 3 or 4, becoming variable 3 or less later. Slight or moderate, but smooth or slight in east. Showers. Good occasionally moderate. | |
|
19. Channel Islands Strong wind warning |
Northeast 5 to 6, occasionally 4 in the south of the area. Slight to moderate, increasing moderate to rather rough in the north during the evening, locally rough mid-channel for a time. Scattered showers, perhaps heavy after midnight. Good, occasionally moderate. |
Reading It
Each area gets a 24-hour forecast plus an outlook for the following 24 hours, covering wind (direction and Beaufort force), sea state, general weather and visibility, in that order. A “Strong wind warning” flag means Force 6 or above is expected somewhere in that area during the first 24 hours — worth taking seriously for anything smaller than a ferry.
The three small icons next to each area (and above, for the Solent) are drawn straight from that same wording — not a separate data source. The arrow shows wind direction with its Beaufort force underneath, coloured green (light), amber (moderate/fresh) or red (strong/gale); the wave icon shows sea state, with more and taller lines meaning rougher water; the circle-and-bars icon shows visibility, with fewer or dashed bars meaning poorer visibility. The coloured strip above the Solent box gives the same picture at a glance: green for calm, amber for breezy, red for a strong wind warning.
Source: Met Office, on behalf of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency • See also: Shipping Forecast (Text) • Shipping Forecast (Audio) • Local Tides • UK Wave Height