The ''Shipping Forecast'' is a

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927. The service provides national radio stations cove ...

broadcast of weather reports and

forecasts Forecasting is the process of making predictions based on past and present data. Later these can be compared with what actually happens. For example, a company might estimate their revenue in the next year, then compare it against the actual resu ...

for the seas around the

British Isles The British Isles are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner Hebrides, Inner and Outer Hebr ...

. It is produced by the

Met Office The Met Office, until November 2000 officially the Meteorological Office, is the United Kingdom's national weather and climate service. It is an executive agency and trading fund of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and ...

and broadcast by

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

on behalf of the

Maritime and Coastguard Agency The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) is an executive agency of the United Kingdom that is responsible for implementing British and international maritime law and safety policy. It works to prevent the loss of lives at sea and to prevent mar ...

. The forecast dates back over 150 years. There are currently two or three broadcasts per day, at 00:48, 05:34, and 17:54 (weekends only) UK local time. In the forecast, the waters around the British Isles are divided into 31 sea areas, also known as weather areas. The forecast begins by listing areas with gale warnings, followed by a general synopsis of pressure areas, then a forecast for each individual sea area covering wind speed and direction, precipitation, and visibility. Extended forecasts at 00:48 and 05:34 include information from

coastal weather stations A coast (coastline, shoreline, seashore) is the land next to the sea or the line that forms the boundary between the land and the ocean or a lake. Coasts are influenced by the topography of the surrounding landscape and by aquatic erosion, su ...

and an

inshore waters {{Short description, Coastlines used in weather forecasting The inshore coastal areas of the United Kingdom are 15 fixed stretches of coastline that are used in weather forecasting especially for wind-powered or small coastal craft. Each area is d ...

forecast. The unique and distinctive presentation style of these broadcasts has led to their attracting an audience much wider than that directly interested in maritime weather conditions. It is frequently referred to and parodied in British popular culture.

History

The Shipping Forecast was established by Vice-Admiral

Robert FitzRoy Vice-Admiral Robert FitzRoy (5 July 1805 – 30 April 1865) was an English officer of the Royal Navy, politician and scientist who served as the second governor of New Zealand between 1843 and 1845. He achieved lasting fame as the captain of ...

, the first professional

weather forecaster A meteorologist is a scientist who studies and works in the field of meteorology aiming to understand or predict Earth's atmospheric phenomena including the weather. Those who study meteorological phenomena are meteorologists in research, while t ...

, captain of and founder of the Met Office. In October 1859, the steam clipper ''

Royal Charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but ...

'' was wrecked in a strong storm off

Anglesey Anglesey ( ; ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms the bulk of the Principal areas of Wales, county known as the Isle of Anglesey, which also includes Holy Island, Anglesey, Holy Island () and some islets and Skerry, sker ...

; 450 people lost their lives. In response to this loss, FitzRoy introduced a warning service for shipping in February 1861, using telegraph communications. This remained the United Kingdom's Met Office primary responsibility for some time afterward. In 1911, the Met Office began issuing marine weather forecasts which included

gale A gale is a strong wind; the word is typically used as a descriptor in nautical contexts. The U.S. National Weather Service defines a gale as sustained surface wind moving at a speed between .

and storm warnings via radio transmission for areas around the British Isles. This service was discontinued during and following the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, between 1914 and June 1921, and again during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

between 1939 and 1945. The programme was first broadcast on the radio on 1 January 1924, then called ''Weather Shipping''. From October 1925, it has been broadcast by the BBC. Today, although most ships have onboard technology to provide the Forecast's information, they still use it to check their data. On Friday 30 May 2014, for the first time in more than 90 years, BBC Radio 4 failed to broadcast the Shipping Forecast at 0520. Staff at

Broadcasting House London Broadcasting House is the headquarters of the BBC, in Portland Place and Langham Place, London. The first radio broadcast from the building was made on 15 March 1932, and the building was officially opened two months later, on 15 May. T ...

were reading out the report but it was not transmitted. Listeners instead heard

BBC World Service The BBC World Service is a British Public broadcasting, public service broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC. It is the world's largest external broadcaster in terms of reception area, language selection and audience reach. It broadcas ...

. The 150th anniversary of the shipping forecast was on 24 August 2017. Between 30 March 2020 and 5 July 2020, as a result of emergency rescheduling because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, the number of bulletins a day was reduced to three, at 00:48, 05:33, and either 12:03 (weekdays) or 17:54 (weekends).

Broadcast times and frequencies

From 1 April 2024, there is no longer a separate long wave schedule for Radio 4, so the number of broadcasts per day has been reduced to two on weekdays and three at weekends, at the following ( UK local) times. They can be received on long wave, FM, DAB,

Sky The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the planetary surface, surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere of Earth, atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from ...

Freeview Freeview may refer to: *Freeview (Australia), the marketing name for the digital terrestrial television platform in Australia *Freeview (New Zealand), a digital satellite and digital terrestrial television platform in New Zealand *Freeview (UK), a ...

Freesat Freesat is a British free-to-air satellite television service, first formed as a joint venture between the BBC and ITV plc and now owned by Everyone TV (itself owned by all of the four UK Public broadcasting, public service broadcasters, BBC, ...

Virgin Media Virgin Media Limited is a British telecommunications company which provides telephone, television and internet services in the United Kingdom. Its headquarters are at Green Park in Reading, England. It is owned by Virgin Media O2, a 50:50 ...

and online via

BBC Sounds BBC Sounds is an Over-the-top media service, over-the-top audio streaming media, streaming and download service from the BBC that includes live radio broadcasts, Streaming media, audio on demand, and podcasts. The service is available on a wide ...

. * 00:48. Includes weather reports from an extended list of coastal stations at 00:52 and an

forecast at 00:55 and concludes with a brief UK weather outlook for the coming day. The broadcast finishes at approximately 00:58. * 05:34 (from 24 March 2025 - previously at 05:20). Includes weather reports from coastal stations at 05:38, and an inshore waters forecast at 05:40. * 17:54 (Saturdays and Sundays only). The forecasts are read by the duty announcer. Until 23 March 2025, the 05:20 forecast was read by the weather forecaster. Until 31 March 2024, there were four broadcasts per day at the following ( UK local) times: * 00:48 – transmitted on FM and LW. * 05:20 – transmitted on FM and LW. * 12:01 – normally transmitted on LW only. * 17:54 – transmitted only on LW on weekdays, as an opt-out from the ''PM'' programme, but at weekends transmitted on both FM and LW.

Longwave

The Shipping Forecast has been broadcast on BBC

longwave In radio, longwave (also spelled long wave or long-wave and commonly abbreviated LW) is the part of the radio spectrum with wavelengths longer than what was originally called the medium-wave (MW) broadcasting band. The term is historic, dati ...

radio services so the signal can be received clearly at sea all around the

, regardless of time of day or radio conditions. The forecast was broadcast on the

BBC National Programme The BBC National Programme was a radio service which was on the air from 9 March 1930 – replacing the earlier BBC's experimental station 5XX – until 1 September 1939 when it was subsumed into the BBC Home Service, two days before the outb ...

until September 1939, and then after the Second World War on the

BBC Light Programme The BBC Light Programme was a national radio station which broadcast chiefly mainstream light entertainment and light music from 1945 until 1967, when it was replaced by BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 2. It opened on 29 July 1945, taking over the ...

(later

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the List of most-listened-to radio programs, most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 14 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the sta ...

) until November 1978. When BBC Radio 4 took over the longwave frequency from Radio 2 on 23 November 1978, the Shipping Forecast was moved to Radio 4 to keep it broadcasting on longwave. As part of the BBC's plans to switch off BBC Radio 4 longwave transmissions, it reduced daily broadcasts of the Shipping Forecast to the FM simulcast schedule of twice on weekdays and three times on weekends in April 2024.

Online

The Shipping Forecast is published online by the Met Office and the BBC. It is also available on

Television broadcasts

On 18 December 1993, as part of the '' Arena Radio Night'', BBC Radio 4 and BBC 2 collaborated on a one off simulcast so the shipping forecast – read that night by Laurie Macmillan – could be seen as well as heard. To date, it is the only time that it has been broadcast on television.

Region names

The 31 sea areas covered in the forecast are as shown in this table and map. The forecast follows the order shown, going clockwise around the British Isles, with each area except Trafalgar, Irish Sea, Shannon, and Fair Isle bordering the previous. Trafalgar is included only in the 00:48 forecast, except when gales or more are due there. These areas still largely follow the format of the chart adopted in 1949. In 1955, meteorologists from countries bordering the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

met and recommended the following changes: that the area Heligoland be renamed German Bight, to conform with the name generally used by other countries; that a new area, Fisher, be split off from the north-eastern half of Dogger; that a new area, Viking, be split off from the northern half of Forties; and that the area Iceland be renamed Southeast Iceland to clarify its position. After international consultation, these were adopted in 1956. In August 1984, to conform with common North Sea area boundaries agreed upon by neighbouring countries, the areas North Utsire and South Utsire were created. In 2002, the area Finisterre was renamed FitzRoy, to avoid confusion with a different area called Finisterre used by the Spanish meteorological service. The sea areas match the forecast areas used by other North Sea countries, though some names differ. The Dutch KNMI and Norwegian counterpart names Forties the Fladen Ground, while uses for Dover, for Wight, for Portland and for Plymouth.

Coastal weather stations

The coastal weather stations named in the Shipping Forecast (and numbered on the map) are: *

Tiree Tiree (; , ) is the most westerly island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The low-lying island, southwest of Coll, has an area of and a population of around 650. The land is highly fertile, and crofting, alongside tourism, and fishing are ...

Automatic (1) *

Stornoway Stornoway (; ) is the main town, and by far the largest, of the Outer Hebrides (or Western Isles), and the capital of Lewis and Harris in Scotland. The town's population is around 6,953, making it the third-largest island town in Scotlan ...

(2) *

Lerwick Lerwick ( or ; ; ) is the main town and port of the Shetland archipelago, Scotland. Shetland's only burgh, Lerwick had a population of about 7,000 residents in 2010. It is the northernmost major settlement within the United Kingdom. Centred ...

(3) *

Wick Wick most often refers to: * Capillary action ("wicking") ** Candle wick, the cord used in a candle or oil lamp ** Solder wick, a copper-braided wire used to desolder electronic contacts Wick or WICK may also refer to: Places and placenames ...

Automatic (0048 only) *

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

(0048 only) *

Leuchars Leuchars (pronounced or ; "rushes") is a town and parish near the north-east coast of Fife in Scotland. The civil parish has a population of 5,754 (in 2011) Census of Scotland 2011, Table KS101SC – Usually Resident Population, publ. by Nati ...

(4) * Boulmer (0048 only) *

Bridlington Bridlington (previously known as Burlington) is a seaside town and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is on the Holderness part (Flamborough Head to the Humber estuary) of the Yorkshire Coast by the North Sea. The town is ...

(5) * Sandettie Light Vessel Automatic (6) * Greenwich Light Vessel Automatic (7) * St. Catherine's Point Automatic (0048 only) *

Jersey Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...

(8) * Channel Light Vessel Automatic (9) *

Scilly The Isles of Scilly ( ; ) are a small archipelago off the southwestern tip of Cornwall, England. One of the islands, St Agnes, is over farther south than the most southerly point of the British mainland at Lizard Point, and has the souther ...

Automatic (10) *

Milford Haven Milford Haven ( ) is a town and community (Wales), community in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is on the north side of the Milford Haven Waterway, an estuary forming a natural harbour that has been used as a port since the Middle Ages. The town was ...

(0048 only) *

Aberporth Aberporth is a seaside village, community (Wales), community and electoral ward in Ceredigion, Wales. The population at the 2001 Census, was 2,485, of whom 49 per cent could speak the Welsh language. At the 2011 Census, the population of the co ...

(0048 only) *

Valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains and typically containing a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over ...

(0048 only) * Liverpool Crosby (0048 only) * Valentia (11) *

Ronaldsway Ronaldsway () is a settlement in the parish of Malew in the south of the Isle of Man, between the village of Ballasalla and the town of Castletown. Features It is notable as the location of Isle of Man Airport and historically of RNAS Ronaldsw ...

(12) *

Malin Head Malin Head () is the Extreme points of Ireland, most northerly point of mainland Ireland, located in the townland of Ardmalin on the Inishowen peninsula in County Donegal. The head's northernmost point is called Dunalderagh at latitude 55.38ºN ...

(13) *

Machrihanish Machrihanish (, ) is a village in Argyll and Bute, on the west coast of Scotland. It is a short distance north of the tip of the Mull of Kintyre, which faces out towards Northern Ireland and the Atlantic. Machrihanish bay The main sandy beach ...

Automatic (0048 only)

Inshore waters

The inshore waters forecast uses the following coastal areas of the United Kingdom: #

Cape Wrath Cape Wrath (, known as ' in Lewis) is a cape in the Durness parish of the county of Sutherland in the Highlands of Scotland. It is the most north-westerly point in Great Britain. The cape is separated from the rest of the mainland by the Ky ...

–

Rattray Head Rattray Head (), historically Rattray Point, is a headland in Buchan, Aberdeenshire, on the north-east coast Scotland. To north lies Strathbeg Bay and Rattray Bay is to its south. The dunes at Rattray Head beach can be up to high and stretch ...

including

Orkney Orkney (), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago off the north coast of mainland Scotland. The plural name the Orkneys is also sometimes used, but locals now consider it outdated. Part of the Northern Isles along with Shetland, ...

–

Berwick-upon-Tweed Berwick-upon-Tweed (), sometimes known as Berwick-on-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, and the northernmost town in England. The 2011 United Kingdom census recor ...

–

Whitby Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is on the Yorkshire Coast at the mouth of the River Esk, North Yorkshire, River Esk and has a maritime, mineral and tourist economy. From the Middle Ages, Whitby ...

– Gibraltar Point # Gibraltar Point –

North Foreland North Foreland is a chalk headland on the Kent coast of southeast England, specifically in Broadstairs. With the rest of Broadstairs and part of Ramsgate it is the eastern side of Kent's largest peninsula, the Isle of Thanet. It presents a b ...

–

Selsey Bill Selsey Bill is a headland into the English Channel on the south coast of England in the county of West Sussex. The southernmost town in Sussex is Selsey which is at the end of the Manhood Peninsula and ''Selsey Bill'' is situated on the town's ...

–

Lyme Regis Lyme Regis ( ) is a town in west Dorset, England, west of Dorchester, Dorset, Dorchester and east of Exeter. Sometimes dubbed the "Pearl of Dorset", it lies by the English Channel at the Dorset–Devon border. It has noted fossils in cliffs and ...

–

Land's End Land's End ( or ''Pedn an Wlas'') is a headland and tourist and holiday complex in western Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, on the Penwith peninsula about west-south-west of Penzance at the western end of the A30 road. To the east of it is ...

including the

Isles of Scilly The Isles of Scilly ( ; ) are a small archipelago off the southwestern tip of Cornwall, England. One of the islands, St Agnes, Isles of Scilly, St Agnes, is over farther south than the most southerly point of the Great Britain, British mainla ...

–

St David's Head St David's Head () is a headland in the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, southwest Wales, which marks the divide between the Irish Sea and the Celtic Sea. It is noted for its wildflowers and wildlife, and for the remains of ancient human set ...

including the

Bristol Channel The Bristol Channel (, literal translation: "Severn Sea") is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales (from Pembrokeshire to the Vale of Glamorgan) and South West England (from Devon to North Somerset). It extends ...

–

Great Orme The Great Orme () is a limestone headland on the north coast of Wales, north-west of the town of Llandudno. Referred to as ''Cyngreawdr Fynydd'' by the 12th-century poet Gwalchmai ap Meilyr, its English name derives from the Old Norse word for ...

Head including

St George's Channel St George's Channel (, ) is a sea channel connecting the Irish Sea to the north and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It separates Wexford on the southeastern corner of Ireland from St Davids in on the southwestern tip of Wales. Origin of nam ...

Head –

Mull of Galloway The Mull of Galloway (, ; ) is the southernmost point of Scotland. It is situated in Wigtownshire, Dumfries and Galloway, at the end of the Rhins of Galloway peninsula, also being the most southerly hill. The Mull has one of the last remain ...

Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...

Lough Foyle Lough Foyle, sometimes Loch Foyle ( or "loch of the lip"), is the estuary of the River Foyle, on the north coast of Ireland. It lies between County Londonderry in Northern Ireland and County Donegal in the Republic of Ireland. Sovereignty over t ...

–

Carlingford Lough Carlingford Lough (, Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster Scots: ''Carlinford Loch'') is a glacial fjord or sea inlet in northeastern Ireland, forming part of Republic of Ireland – United Kingdom border, the border between Northern Ireland to the nor ...

(covers the entire coastline of

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

) #

–

Mull of Kintyre The Mull of Kintyre is the southwesternmost tip of the Kintyre Peninsula (formerly ''Cantyre'') in southwest Scotland. From here, the Antrim coast of Northern Ireland is visible on a calm and clear day, and a historic lighthouse, the second ...

including the

Firth of Clyde The Firth of Clyde, is the estuary of the River Clyde, on the west coast of Scotland. The Firth has some of the deepest coastal waters of the British Isles. The Firth is sheltered from the Atlantic Ocean by the Kintyre, Kintyre Peninsula. The ...

and the North Channel #

–

Ardnamurchan Point Ardnamurchan Point (, meaning "the headland of the hill of the great sea") is a peninsula in Highland, Scotland where the Ardnamurchan Lighthouse is situated. Location Ardnamurchan Point lies at the western end of the Ardnamurchan peninsula in ...

–

Shetland Shetland (until 1975 spelled Zetland), also called the Shetland Islands, is an archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands, and Norway, marking the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the ...

Isles

Broadcast format

The Shipping Forecast follows a very strict format. Excluding the header line, it has a limit of 350 words—except for the 0048 broadcast, where it is increased to 380 to accommodate Trafalgar's inclusion. Forecast times are spelled out as digits on the 24-hour clock, for example "two-three-double-O", and barometric pressures are pronounced as whole numbers, for example "a thousand and five". With regard to the timing of weather events, the words "Imminent", "Soon" and "Later" are used and are tightly defined. "Imminent" means within 6 hours, "Soon" means within 6 to 12 hours and "Later" means within 12 to 24 hours. The basic order of the forecast is: # Gale warnings in force (if any) # General synopsis # Area forecasts: wind direction/speed, weather, visibility, ship icing if any # Coastal weather stations (00:48 and 05:20 only): wind direction/speed, precipitation if any, visibility, pressure # Inshore waters (00:48 and 05:20 only): wind direction/speed, weather, visibility

Introduction, gale warnings, and general synopsis

The forecast begins with "And now the Shipping Forecast, issued by the Met Office on behalf of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency at xxxx today." This format is followed quite strictly, although some

continuity announcer In broadcasting, continuity or presentation (or station break in the U.S. and Canada) is announcements, messages and graphics played by the broadcaster between specific programmes. It typically includes programme schedules, announcement of the ...

s read out the actual date of issue as opposed to the word "today". This is followed by gale warnings (winds of force 8 or more on the

Beaufort scale The Beaufort scale ( ) is an empirical measure that relates wind speed to observed conditions at sea or on land. Its full name is the Beaufort wind force scale. It was devised in 1805 by Francis Beaufort a hydrographer in the Royal Navy. It ...

), if any (e.g., "There are warnings of gales in Rockall, Malin, Hebrides, Bailey, and Fair Isle"). This sometimes follows the opposite format (e.g., "There are warnings of gales in all areas except Biscay, Trafalgar and FitzRoy"). The general synopsis follows, giving the position, pressure (in millibars) and track of pressure areas (e.g., "Low, Rockall, 987, deepening rapidly, expected Fair Isle 964 by 0700 tomorrow"). With the information provided in the Shipping Forecast it is possible to compile a pressure chart for the coasts of northwestern Europe.

Area forecasts

Each area's 24-hour forecast is then read out. Several areas may be combined into a single forecast where the conditions are expected to be similar.

Wind direction Wind direction is generally reported by the direction from which the wind originates. For example, a ''north'' or ''northerly'' wind blows from the north to the south; the exceptions are onshore winds (blowing onto the shore from the water) and ...

is given first, then strength (on the

), followed by

precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls from clouds due to gravitational pull. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, rain and snow mixed ("sleet" in Commonwe ...

, if any, and (usually) lastly visibility. Change in wind direction is indicated by "veering" (

clockwise Two-dimensional rotation can occur in two possible directions or senses of rotation. Clockwise motion (abbreviated CW) proceeds in the same direction as a clock's hands relative to the observer: from the top to the right, then down and then to ...

change) or "backing" (anti-clockwise change). Winds at or above force 8 are also described by name for emphasis, i.e., Gale 8, Severe Gale 9, Storm 10, Violent Storm 11 and

Hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its ...

force 12. The word "force" is only officially used when announcing force 12 winds. Visibility is given in the format "Good", meaning that the visibility is greater than ; "Moderate", where visibility is between nautical miles; "Poor", where visibility is between 1,000 metres and two nautical miles and "

Fog Fog is a visible aerosol consisting of tiny water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. Reprint from Fog can be considered a type of low-lying cloud usually resembling stratus and is heavily influenc ...

", where visibility is less than . When severe winter cold combines with strong winds and a cold sea, icing can occur, normally only in sea area Southeast Iceland; if expected, icing warnings (light, moderate or severe) are given as the last item of each sea area forecast. Iced ship

Examples of area forecasts: :* "Humber, Thames. Southeast veering southwest 4 or 5, occasionally 6 later. Thundery showers. Moderate or good, occasionally poor." :* "Tyne, Dogger. Northeast 3 or 4. Occasional rain. Moderate or poor." :* "Rockall, Malin, Hebrides. Southwest gale 8 to storm 10, veering west, severe gale 9 to violent storm 11. Rain, then squally showers. Poor, becoming moderate." :* "Southeast Iceland. Northerly 7 to severe gale 9. Heavy snow showers. Good, becoming poor in showers. Moderate icing." On 10 January 1993, during the Braer Storm, a record North Atlantic low pressure of 914 mb was recorded. The shipping forecast was: :* "Rockall, Malin, Hebrides, Bailey. Southwest hurricane force 12 or more."

Coastal weather stations and inshore waters

Extended shipping forecasts (00:48 and 05:20) also include weather reports from

followed by a forecast for the inshore waters of the United Kingdom. This additional information does not fall within the 350/380-word restriction. The reports for coastal weather stations use the following format: name of the station, wind direction/speed, precipitation (if any), visibility in miles, barometric pressure, and trend in pressure. For example, "Machrihanish Automatic. West by south 6, rain, 1 mile, 981, falling more slowly." The inshore waters forecast begins with a summary of the general situation, followed by forecasts for coastal sections, moving clockwise, using a format similar to that used for sea areas.

"Sailing By"

The 00:48 Shipping Forecast, at the end of the broadcast day, is traditionally preceded by the playing of "

Sailing By "Sailing By" is a short piece of light music composer, composed by Ronald Binge in 1963, which is used before the late Shipping Forecast on BBC Radio 4. A slow waltz, the piece uses a repetitive ABCAB structure and a distinctive rising and fallin ...

", a light orchestral piece by

Ronald Binge Ronald Binge (15 July 1910 – 6 September 1979) was a British composer and arranger of light music. He arranged many of Mantovani's most famous pieces before composing his own music, which included '' Elizabethan Serenade'' and ''Sailing By''.A ...

. This is only very rarely omitted, generally when the schedule is running late. Though occasionally played in full, it is common for only a section of the piece to be broadcast; that section being the length required to fill the gap between the previous programme's ending and the start of the forecast at precisely 00:48. "Sailing By" serves as an identification tool – it is distinctive and as such assists anyone attempting to tune in. The forecast is then followed by a more general weather report, the sign-off, traditionally ending with the presenter wishing the audience a good night, the national anthem "

God Save the King "God Save the King" ("God Save the Queen" when the monarch is female) is ''de facto'' the national anthem of the United Kingdom. It is one of national anthems of New Zealand, two national anthems of New Zealand and the royal anthem of the Isle ...

" and the closedown of the station for the day, with the

taking over the frequencies after the pips of the

Greenwich Time Signal The Greenwich Time Signal (GTS), popularly known as the pips, is a series of six short tones (or "pips") broadcast at one-second intervals by many BBC Radio stations to mark the precise start of each hour. The pips were introduced in 1924, gene ...

at 01:00.

Related forecasts

The Shipping Forecast should not be confused with similar broadcasts given by

HM Coastguard His Majesty's Coastguard (HMCG) is the section of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency responsible, through the Secretary of State for Transport to Parliament, for the initiation and co-ordination of all maritime search and rescue (SAR) within th ...

to vessels at sea tuned into

marine VHF Marine VHF radio is a worldwide system of two way radio, two way radio transceivers on ships and watercraft used for bidirectional voice communication from ship-to-ship, ship-to-shore (for example with harbormasters), and in certain circumstan ...

and MF radio frequencies. HM Coastguard's broadcasts can only be heard by vessels or persons using or tuned into marine VHF and MF radio frequencies, whereas the Shipping Forecast can be heard by anyone tuned into

. The Coastguard's broadcasts follow the same format as the shipping forecast using the same terminology and style, but the information only normally applies to the area sector or region covered by that particular Coastguard Co-ordination Centre (such as the

, for instance). Announcements of pending broadcasts by HM Coastguard are given on marine

channel 16 VHF Channel 16 VHF (156.800 MHz) is a marine VHF radio frequency designated as an international distress frequency. Primarily intended for distress, urgency and safety priority calls, the frequency may also carry routine calls used to establish commu ...

and are announced with (e.g.), "

Sécurité Sécurité (; French: ''sécurité'') (often repeated thrice, "Sécurité, sécurité, sécurité") is a procedure word used in the maritime radio service that warns the crew that the following message is important safety information. The most com ...

. All stations. This is Milford Haven Coastguard... For the Maritime Safety Information, list on Channel 62. This is Milford Haven Coastguard." A similar broadcast on MF is initially announced on 2182 kHz, with a further frequency specified, e.g., 1770 kHz. VHF optimum range is approximately 30 nautical miles (nmi), effectively line of sight, whereas MF range is much greater at approximately 150nmi, allowing ships in the Atlantic Ocean and North Sea to receive the broadcast. The forecasts sent over the

Navtex NAVTEX (NAVigational TEleX), sometimes styled Navtex or NavTex, is an international automated medium frequency direct-printing service for delivery of navigational and meteorological warnings and forecasts, as well as urgent maritime safety inf ...

system use a similar format and the same sea areas.

RTÉ Radio 1 RTÉ Radio 1 () is an Irish national radio station owned and operated by RTÉ and is the direct descendant of Dublin radio station 2RN, which began broadcasting on a regular basis on 1 January 1926. The total budget for the station in 2010 w ...

broadcasts coastal reports for Ireland similar to those in the Shipping Forecast for the UK. Also in Sweden,

Sveriges Radio P1 P1 is a national radio channel produced by the Swedish public broadcaster Sveriges Radio (SR). It was launched in 1925 as the first national radio station in Sweden, and adopted its current format in 1966. History Until 12 January 2015, SR P1 c ...

broadcasts maritime weather broadcasts ''()'' similar to the Shipping Forecast during its weather forecasts which it receives from

SMHI The Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (, SMHI) is a Swedish government agency and operates under the Ministry of Climate and Enterprise. SMHI has expertise within the areas of meteorology, hydrology and oceanography, and has exte ...

. The Swedish forecast uses the same names as the British forecast in the areas that Shipping Forecast uses, except they are translated into Swedish for example German Bight is known as Tyska bukten.

Influences on popular culture

The Shipping Forecast is immensely popular with the British public; it attracts listeners in the hundreds of thousands daily – far more than actually require it. In 1995, a plan to move the late night broadcast by 12 minutes triggered angry newspaper editorials and debates in the UK Parliament and was ultimately scrapped. Similar outcry greeted the Met Office's decision to rename Finisterre to FitzRoy, but in that case, the decision was carried through. Peter Jefferson, who read the Forecast for 40 years until 2009, says that he received letters from listeners across the UK saying that the 0048 broadcast helped them get to sleep after a long day. The Controller of BBC Radio 4, Mark Damazer, attempted to explain its popularity:

Zeb Soanes Zebedee Soanes (born 24 June 1976) is a British radio presenter who hosts the weekday evening music show ''Relaxing Evenings with Zeb Soanes'' on Classic FM. He was previously a newsreader and continuity announcer on BBC Radio 4 and BBC Radio ...

, a regular Shipping Forecast reader, described it thus: Soanes also wrote the foreword to ''The Shipping Forecast Puzzle Book'' (

BBC Books BBC Books (also formerly known as BBC Consumer Publishing and BBC Publishing) is an imprint majority-owned and managed by Penguin Random House through its Ebury Publishing division. The minority shareholder is BBC Studios, the commercial subsidia ...

, 2020), in which he explains:

The forecast gives the wind direction and force, atmospheric pressure, visibility and the state of the sea. It is a nightly litany with a rhythm and indefinable poetry that have made it popular with millions of people who never have cause to put to sea and have little idea what it actually means; a reminder that whilst you're tucked-up safely under the bedclothes, far out over the waves it's a wilder and more dangerous picture, one that captures the imagination and leads it into uncharted waters whilst you sleep. Dependable, reassuring and never hurried, in these especially uncertain times The Shipping Forecast is a still small voice of calm across the airwaves.

Another regular reader of the Forecast, Kathy Clugston, described it as "Like a lullaby, almost". Jo Ellison of ''Financial Times'' wrote that "Over time it has become a beloved cultural icon, a tacit expression of our national identity."

The Twentieth Century Society The Twentieth Century Society (abbreviated to C20), founded in 1979 as The Thirties Society, is a British charity that campaigns for the preservation of architectural heritage from 1914 onwards. It is formally recognised as one of the National ...

Director Catherine Croft commented:

took inspiration by the comments from people using the forecast to fall asleep and created a podcast called ''The Sleeping Forecast,'' where samples of the forecast are paired with classical and ambient music.

Music

The Shipping Forecast has inspired a number of songs and poems, including the following:

Radio

Frank Muir Frank Herbert Muir (5 February 1920 – 2 January 1998) was an English comedy writer, radio and television personality, and raconteur. His writing and performing partnership with Denis Norden endured for most of their careers. Together they wr ...

and

Denis Norden Denis Mostyn Norden (born Denis Moss Cohen; 6 February 1922 – 19 September 2018) was an English comedy writer and television presenter. After an early career working in cinemas, he began scriptwriting during the Second World War. From 1948 t ...

parodied the Shipping Forecast in a song written for an episode of '' Take It From Here'': '' Dead Ringers'' parodied the Shipping Forecast using Brian Perkins rapping the forecast ("Dogger, Fisher, German Bight – becoming quite cyclonic. Occasional showers making you feel cat-atatatatatata-tonic..."). Many other versions have been used including a "Dale Warning" to warn where

Dale Winton Dale Jonathan Winton (22 May 1955 – 18 April 2018) was an English radio DJ and television presenter. He presented the shows '' Supermarket Sweep'' from 1993 until 2001 and again in 2007, the National Lottery game show '' In It to Win It' ...

could be found over the coming period, and a spoof in which sailors are warned of ghostly galleons and other nightmarish apparitions.

Stephen Fry Sir Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director, narrator and writer. He came to prominence as a member of the comic act Fry and Laurie alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring in ''A Bit of ...

, in his 1988 radio programme '' Saturday Night Fry'', issued the following "Shipping Forecast" in the first episode of the programme: The BBC Radio 4 monologue sketch show ''One'' features a number of Shipping Forecast parodies, written by

David Quantick David Quantick (born 14 May 1961) is an English novelist, comedy writer and critic, who has worked as a journalist and screenwriter. A former freelance writer for the music magazine ''NME'', his writing credits have included '' On the Hour'', ' ...

and

Daniel Maier Daniel Maier (born 1968, in Newcastle upon Tyne, England) is a comedy writer and performer for television, radio, print and the stage. He was educated at the Royal Grammar School of Newcastle upon Tyne. Between 2002 and 2012, he was part of the wri ...

, such as the following, originally broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on Thursday 21 February 2008: In an episode of the BBC Radio 4 series '' Live on Arrival'',

Steve Punt Steve Punt (born ) is a British comedy writer, comedian and actor. Along with Hugh Dennis, he is part of the double act Punt and Dennis and was presenter of BBC Radio 4 satirical news programme '' The Now Show''. He is also a writer and programm ...

reads the Shopping Forecast, in which the regions are replaced with supermarket names, e.g. "

Tesco Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in the United Kingdom at its head offices in Welwyn Garden City, England. The company was founded by Jack Cohen (businessman), Sir Jack Cohen in ...

Fine Fare Fine Fare was a chain of supermarkets which operated in the United Kingdom from 1951 until 1988. During the 1960s the company was the largest operator of supermarkets in Europe. Their Yellow Pack budget private label, own-label range, introduce ...

, Sainsbury". The sketch ends with the information, "joke mileage decreasing, end of show imminent". On the broadcast at 0048 on Saturday 19 March 2011, the area forecasts were delivered by

John Prescott John Leslie Prescott, Baron Prescott (31 May 1938 – 20 November 2024) was a British politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and as First Secretary of State from 2001 to 2007. A member of the ...

to raise awareness of

Red Nose Day 2011 ''Red Nose Day 2011'' was a fundraising event organised by Comic Relief. There was a live telethon broadcast on BBC One and BBC Two from the evening of 18 March 2011 to early the following morning as well as a number of run-up events. The theme ...

, a charity event organised by

Comic Relief Comic Relief is a British charity, founded in 1986 by the comedy scriptwriter Richard Curtis and comedian Sir Lenny Henry in response to the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia. The concept of Comic Relief was to get British comedians to make t ...

. The format then reverted to the BBC continuity announcer Alice Arnold for the reports on coastal areas. On delivering the area forecast for Humber, Prescott (who had represented the parliamentary constituency of Kingston upon Hull East for almost 40 years before retiring) slipped deliberately into his distinctive

East Yorkshire The East Riding of Yorkshire, often abbreviated to the East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, South Yorkshire to the south-west ...

accent – "'Umber – without the 'H', as we say it up there". The comedian

Marti Caine Marti Caine, born Lynne Denise Shepherd (26 January 1945 – 4 November 1995), was an English comedienne, actress, dancer, presenter, singer, and writer, who first came to national attention by winning the television talent show '' New Faces'' ...

listed the Shipping Forecast as one of her eight records when she made her second appearance on ''

Desert Island Discs ''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942. Each week a guest, called a " castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight audio recordin ...

'' on 24 March 1991. The

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

'' That's What He Said'' podcast by

Greg James Gregory James Alan Milward (born 17 December 1985) is an English broadcaster and author. He has been a presenter on BBC Radio 1 since 2007, hosting shows including his old drive-time show and the station's flagship breakfast show. Since 201 ...

featured the shipping forecast being read out by Grace Hopper. This was done to make light of her inability to pronounce certain words. On his December 28 2024

BBC Radio 6 The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current state ...

show,

Gilles Peterson Gilles Jérôme Moehrle MBE (; born 28 September 1964), better known as Gilles Peterson (), is a broadcaster, DJ, record label and festival owner. He is renowned for his genre-defying approach to music with jazz at its core. From this base he ...

paid tribute to “100 years of The Shipping Forecast” playing “Seamus Heaney The Shipping Forecast - Poem”. On 1 January 2025 BBC Radio 4 broadcast a series of programmes under the title "Shipping Forecast Day", to mark the start of a year of celebrations of the centenary of the Shipping Forecast.

Film and television

Terence Davies Terence Davies (10 November 1945 – 7 October 2023) was a British screenwriter, film director, and novelist. He is best known as the writer and director of autobiographical films, including '' Distant Voices, Still Lives'' (1988), '' The Long ...

' film ''

Distant Voices, Still Lives ''Distant Voices, Still Lives'' is a 1988 British period drama film written and directed by Terence Davies. It evokes working-class family life in Liverpool during the 1940s and early 1950s, paying particular attention to the role of popular mu ...

'', a largely autobiographical account of growing up in

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

during the 1940s and 1950s, opens with a shipping forecast from this period. In an episode of the BBC sitcom ''

Keeping Up Appearances ''Keeping Up Appearances'' is a British sitcom created and written by Roy Clarke. It originally aired on BBC1 from 1990 to 1995. The central character is an eccentric and snobbish middle-class social climber, Hyacinth Bucket ( Patricia Ro ...

'', a soon-to-be-sailing

Hyacinth Bucket Hyacinth Bucket (née Walton; sometimes known as ''The Bucket Woman'') is a fictional character in the BBC sitcom ''Keeping Up Appearances'', portrayed by Patricia Routledge. Routledge won a British Comedy Award in 1991, and was nominated for two ...

calls over the telephone for an advance shipping forecast, even though the yacht she and her husband Richard are to visit is moored on the Thames near Oxford. Names mentioned (in scene sequence) are:

Fisher Fisher is an archaic term for a fisherman, revived as gender-neutral. Fisher, Fishers or The Fisher may also refer to: Places Australia * Division of Fisher, an electoral district in the Australian House of Representatives, in Queensland *Elec ...

German Bight The German Bight ( ; ; ); ; ; sometimes also the German Bay) is the southeastern bight of the North Sea bounded by the Netherlands and Germany to the south, and Denmark and Germany to the east (the Jutland peninsula). To the north and west i ...

and

Cromarty Cromarty (; , ) is a town, civil parishes in Scotland, civil parish and former royal burgh in Ross and Cromarty, in the Highland (council area), Highland area of Scotland. Situated at the tip of the Black Isle on the southern shore of the mout ...

, Dogger and

Heligoland Heligoland (; , ; Heligolandic Frisian: , , Mooring Frisian: , ) is a small archipelago in the North Sea. The islands were historically possessions of Denmark, then became possessions of the United Kingdom from 1807 to 1890. Since 1890, the ...

(also known as

). In an episode of the BBC sitcom ''

Ever Decreasing Circles ''Ever Decreasing Circles'' is a British sitcom which ran on BBC1 between 1984 and 1989, consisting of four series and one feature-length special. It was written by John Esmonde and Bob Larbey, and it reunited them with Richard Briers, who ha ...

'', Howard and Hilda leave their neighbour Paul's house party early, explaining that they must get back to listen to the Shipping Forecast. Paul asks why, seeing as they have never owned a boat. Howard explains, "Well, it takes us nicely into the news." Mentioned briefly in the film '' Kes'' A recording of part of the forecast is played over the opening and closing credits of

Rick Stein Christopher Richard Stein, (born 4 January 1947) is an English celebrity chef, restaurateur, writer and television presenter. Along with business partner (and first wife) Jill Stein, he runs the Stein hotel and restaurant business in the UK. T ...

's 2000 TV series ''Rick Stein's Seafood Lover's Guide''. In an episode of the Channel 4 television series ''

Black Books ''Black Books'' is a British sitcom created by Dylan Moran and Graham Linehan, and written by Moran, Kevin Cecil, Andy Riley, Linehan and Arthur Mathews. It was broadcast on Channel 4, running for three series from 2000 to 2004. Starring Dyla ...

'', the character Fran Katzenjammer listens to the shipping forecast because a friend from her college is reading it. She finds his voice arousing. In the BBC sitcom '' As Time Goes By'', the character Mrs Bale is obsessed by and constantly mentions The Shipping Forecast much to the befuddlement of the other characters. Many characters in the 1983 children's cartoon, ''

The Adventures of Portland Bill ''The Adventures of Portland Bill'' is a British stop motion animated children's television series made in 1983. It is set in a fictional lighthouse on the Guillemot Rock, just off the coast from the fictional village of McGuillycuddy. Norman ...

'' are named after features mentioned in the Shipping Forecast. In the 2011 movie ''

Page Eight ''Page Eight'' is a 2011 British political thriller, written and directed for the BBC by the British dramatist David Hare, his first film as director since the 1989 film '' Strapless''. The cast includes Bill Nighy, Rachel Weisz, Michael Gambo ...

'', the Shipping Forecast plays as the main protagonist Jonnie Worricker drives his car through London late at night. In the movie ''

I, Daniel Blake ''I, Daniel Blake'' is a 2016 Franco-British drama film written by Paul Laverty and directed by Ken Loach. The film stars Dave Johns as Daniel Blake, a middle-aged man who is denied Employment and Support Allowance despite being declared un ...

'', the titular character's late wife is said to have been a listener of the Shipping Forecast, with Daniel playing "Sailing By" on a cassette. The song is played at the end of the film at Daniel's funeral. In the 2020 movie ''

Supernova A supernova (: supernovae or supernovas) is a powerful and luminous explosion of a star. A supernova occurs during the last stellar evolution, evolutionary stages of a massive star, or when a white dwarf is triggered into runaway nuclear fusion ...

'', depicting the caravan holiday of an American-British gay couple (Stanley Tucci and Colin Firth), the Shipping Forecast comes on the car radio, prompting the American to wonder aloud, "How many decades do you have to live in this country for that to make any sense?" The actress

Olivia Colman Sarah Caroline Sinclair ( Colman; born 30 January 1974), known professionally as Olivia Colman, is an English actress. She has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, four BAFTA Awards, two Emmy Awards, three Golden Globe Award ...

has said that listening to the Shipping Forecast through an

earpiece An in-ear monitor (IEMs), in-ear, or colloquially earpiece is a listening device placed into the ear. More narrowly, the term in-ear monitor is defined as such a device used by musicians, audio engineers and audiophiles to listen to music or to ...

helps her keep her emotions in check while filming some of the more emotional scenes on ''

The Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...

'', to accurately portray the cool and collected character of the monarch

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

Video games

Funcom Funcom Oslo AS (formerly Funcom N.V. and Funcom Productions AS) is a Norwegian video game developer and publisher that specializes in online games. It is best known for the massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) titles ''Conan Ex ...

massively multiplayer online role-playing game A massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) is a video game that combines aspects of a role-playing video game and a massively multiplayer online game. As in role-playing games (RPGs), the player assumes the role of a Player charac ...

The Secret World ''The Secret World'' is a massively multiplayer online role-playing video game with a dark urban fantasy theme, in which players play characters defending the world from occult threats. Overview Ragnar Tørnquist led development of the initi ...

'', the shipping forecast plays over the radio in a

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Undergro ...

station, adding to the British flavour distinguishing the setting from other worldwide locations featured in the game.

Literature

A number of minor characters in

Jasper Fforde Jasper Fforde (born 11 January 1961) is an English novelist whose first novel, '' The Eyre Affair'', was published in 2001. He is known mainly for his '' Thursday Next'' novels, but has also published two books in the loosely connected '' Nurser ...

's first novel, ''

The Eyre Affair ''The Eyre Affair'' is the debut novel by English author Jasper Fforde, published by Hodder and Stoughton in 2001. It takes place in an alternative 1985, where literary detective Thursday Next pursues a master criminal through the world of Ch ...

'', are named after Sea Areas in the shipping forecast. Charlie Connelly's 2004 book ''Attention All Shipping'' (Little Brown: ) describes a project to visit every sea area with any land, and to travel by air or sea over the others. In the ''New York Times'' magazine dated 19 February 2023, the letter of recommendation by Grace Linden was an article on the shipping forecast, in which she stated: "Like the sea itself, the Shipping Forecast is a reminder of the larger, more elemental forces at play, those things that are much more powerful than any of our individual worries or wants." ''Moderate Becoming Good Later'' (Summersdale: ) is a 2023 book by siblings Toby and Katie Carr, describing Toby's kayaking trip around the shipping areas; Katie completed the book, from Toby's notes, after his death. In

Carol Ann Duffy Dame Carol Ann Duffy (born 23 December 1955) is a Scottish poet and playwright. She is a professor of contemporary poetry at Manchester Metropolitan University, and was appointed Poet Laureate in May 2009, and her term expired in 2019. She wa ...

's poem ''Prayer'', the final line is "Darkness outside. Inside, the radio's prayer - Rockall. Malin. Dogger. Finisterre." In Amelia Ellis' 2008 novel ''The Fourth Aspect'', the protagonist is overcome by an emotional reaction when by chance listening to the shipping forecast on a road trip from London to the Scottish Highlands, leading her to the realization that "Sometimes we hold on to things or people for reasons that have nothing to do with them at all."

Art

For his project ''The Shipping Forecast – an Artist's Journey'', which began in 2015, the

Troon Troon (Scottish Gaelic: ''An Truthail'') is a town and sea port in South Ayrshire, situated on the west coast of Ayrshire in Scotland, about north of Ayr and northwest of Glasgow Prestwick Airport. Troon has a port with ferry and freight serv ...

-based artist Ian Rawnsley plans to travel by sea through each of the sea areas and create a painting inspired by each, to raise funds for

Macmillan Cancer Support Macmillan Cancer Support is one of the largest British charities and provides specialist health care, information and financial support to people affected by cancer. It also looks at the social, emotional and practical impact cancer can have, an ...

Bedtime story

In March 2017,

Peter Jefferson Peter Jefferson (February 29, 1708 – August 17, 1757) was a planter, cartographer, and politician in colonial Virginia best known for being the father of the third president of the United States, Thomas Jefferson. The "Fry-Jefferson Map", cre ...

recorded a reinvented version of the Shipping Forecast as "a bedtime story for grown-ups".
-

References

External links

The BBC's Shipping Forecast page
containing the latest forecast when it is released (i.e. 0015, 0505, 1130 and 1725).
The Meteorological Office's Shipping Forecast page
contains the same forecast as the BBC site.
The BBC's forecast for inshore waters

Shipping Forecast's 'baffling' legacy

Shipping Forecast Takes Global Bow
– The BBC's

History

Broadcast times and frequencies

Longwave

Online

Television broadcasts

Region names

Coastal weather stations

Inshore waters

Broadcast format

Introduction, gale warnings, and general synopsis

Area forecasts

Coastal weather stations and inshore waters

"Sailing By"

Related forecasts

Influences on popular culture

Music

Radio

Film and television

Video games

Literature

Art

Bedtime story

References

Further reading

External links