The Shipping Forecast is a BBC Radio broadcast of weather reports and forecasts for the seas around the British Isles. It is produced by the Met Office and broadcast by BBC Radio 4 on behalf of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. The forecast dates back over 150 years. There are currently four broadcasts per day at the following (UK local) times: 00:48, 05:20, 12:01, and 17:54.
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 05:20 include information from coastal weather stations and inshore waters.
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, the first professional weather forecaster, captain of and founder of the Met Office. In October 1859, the steam clipper Royal Charter was wrecked in a strong storm off Anglesey; 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 and storm warnings via radio transmission for areas around Great Britain. This service was discontinued during and following the First World War, between 1914 and June 1921, and again during the Second World War between 1939 and 1945.
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 were reading out the report but it was not transmitted. Listeners instead heard BBC World Service.
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 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
There are currently four broadcasts per day at the following (UK local) times: 00:48 – transmitted on FM and LW. Includes weather reports from an extended list of coastal stations at 00:52 and an inshore waters forecast at 00:55 and concludes with a brief UK weather outlook for the coming day. The broadcast finishes at approximately 00:58. 05:20 – transmitted on FM and LW. Includes weather reports from coastal stations at 05:25, and an inshore waters forecast at 05:27. 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.
The 00:48, 12:01 and 17:54 forecasts are read by the duty announcer, but the 05:20 forecast is read by the weather forecaster (there being no separate Radio 4 continuity operation at that time).
Longwave
The Shipping Forecast has been broadcast on BBC longwave radio services so the signal can be received clearly at sea all around the British Isles regardless of time of day or radio conditions. The forecast was broadcast on the BBC National Programme until September 1939, and then after the Second World War on the BBC Light Programme (later BBC Radio 2) 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 the BBC Radio 4 longwave transmitter, it announced plans to reduce daily broadcasts of the Shipping Forecast to the current FM simulcast schedule of twice on weekdays, and three times on weekends by March 2024.
Online
The Shipping Forecast is published online by the Met Office and the BBC. It is also available on BBC Sounds.
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.