As many will be aware, there have been some modifications to sea areas and weather stations around the British Isles. On the following page we have reproduced, with kind permission of the Meteorological Office, Bracknell, a chart showing the current layout of sea areas and weather stations, together with the times of BBC shipping forecasts.

Boundaries of sea area, as used in weather forecasts transmitted by the BBC and British Telecom International Coastal Radio Stations

Weather within an estuary, and particularly the visibility there, may often be expected to differ from that forecast for the coastal sea area in which the estuary lies, though this will not necessarily be mentioned in the forecast.

The hatched areas, also Biscay, Sole and Finisterre, are included in the Atlantic Weather Bulletin for shipping, transmitted by Portishead Radio. The plain areas are included in the bulletins broadcast by the BBC and British Telecom International Coastal Radio Stations.

In weather bulletins the words poor visibility imply a visual range of between 1000m and 2 nautical miles; moderate is equal to a visual range of 2 - 5 nautical miles; good is applicable when visibility is greater than 5 nautical miles. The terms used to describe the speed of movement of pressure systems are as follows: Slowly - less than 15 knots; Steadily - 15 to 25 knots; Rather quickly - 25 to 35 knots; Rapidly - 35 to 45 knots; Very rapidly - more than 45 knots

Times of BBC broadcasts: 0033 - 0038 (approx.), 0555 - 0600, 1355 - 1400, 1750 - 1755 daily (all times clock time). The 0033 broadcast includes a forecast for area Trafalgar.