Shipping Forecast facts for kids
The Shipping Forecast is a special weather report for the sea around the United Kingdom and Ireland. It tells sailors about the weather conditions. This forecast has been on BBC Radio 4 four times a day since the 1920s.
The Met Office, which is the UK's weather center, creates the forecast. They make it for the Maritime Coastguard Agency. The forecast names many sea areas. It starts with "Viking" in the northeast and goes clockwise around the British coast. It ends near "Southeast Iceland" in the northwest. Sometimes, the names of these areas are changed to match other countries' forecasts. The Shipping Forecast is one of the first things heard on Radio 4 each day. Many poems and songs, like one by Seamus Heaney and a song by the band Blur, have mentioned it.
Contents
Understanding the Shipping Forecast
The Shipping Forecast uses a special set of rules for how it is written. It must be no longer than 370 words. It is always read in the same way and takes about 9 minutes. The words used can be hard to understand unless you know the rules.
For example, a forecast might say:
| “ | Dover, Wight, Portland, Plymouth, four or five, increasing six soon, rain or slight drizzle, good. | ” |
For someone who knows the rules, this means: "In the English Channel, the winds are strong. They will get even stronger in less than twelve hours. There will be some light rain, but you will be able to see well."
The numbers like "four or five" and "six" refer to the Beaufort scale. This scale measures how strong the wind is.
Special Words in the Forecast
Here are some special words used in the Shipping Forecast and what they mean:
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Imminent | Happening in the next 6 hours |
| Soon | Happening in less than 12 hours |
| Later | Happening after 12 hours |
| Backing | Wind direction is changing anticlockwise |
| Veering | Wind direction is changing clockwise |
Sailing By Music
Before the 00:45 broadcast of the Shipping Forecast, a piece of music called Sailing By is played. This music helps make sure the Shipping Forecast starts at the exact same time every day. It gives the Radio 4 team some extra time if their other shows are running late.
In 1993, Sailing By was taken off the air for two years. Many people were upset about this. The music was written by Ronald Binge in 1962. He was a composer of light music.
The Shipping Forecast is sent out in many ways. The most famous way is on the radio. You can listen to BBC Radio 4, which broadcasts the forecast three times a day, as far away as Denmark. You can also listen to it anywhere in the world on the BBC's website.
An updated Shipping Forecast is sent out six times a day using Navtex. There are three Navtex transmitters placed around the coast of the United Kingdom. They send information about the areas near them. These transmitters are called Cullercoats, Niton, and Portpatrick.
Navtex is a type of radio communication. It sends a message to a special receiver that turns it into text. It is like a text message on a mobile phone. Navtex messages can be received up to 270 miles offshore. Navtex stands for NAVigational TEXt messages. Many areas around the world use Navtex, including the Mediterranean Sea, the North Sea, Japan, and the coasts of North America. Navtex is a common way for sailors to get the Shipping Forecast when they are far from land.
Coastguard Broadcasts
The Maritime Coastguard Agency also sends messages every three hours. They broadcast from their sixteen stations located along the coast. These broadcasts include important notices for sailors and a weather forecast for the local area. The "Maritime Safety Information" broadcast includes a part of the Shipping Forecast that is specific to that area.
Other Weather Forecasts
There are other forecasts that are similar to the Shipping Forecast. The High Seas Forecast is like the Shipping Forecast in how it is set up and the rules it follows. However, it is about the North Atlantic ocean, also known as 'Met Area 1'. You can find it on Radio 4's website. It is also divided into many areas, and some of them have the same names as in the Shipping Forecast.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/coast_and_sea/shipping_forecast
Images for kids
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Icing can be a dangerous problem for ships; accurate forecasting can save lives by ensuring crews are prepared
See also
In Spanish: Shipping Forecast para niños
