"AND NOW THE SHIPPING FORECAST ISSUED BY THE MET OFFICE, ON BEHALF OF THE MARITIME AND COASTGUARD AGENCY, AT 0045 ON TUESDAY 22 FEBRUARY 2005...."
On a practical level, the forecast offers essential (and potentially life saving) information to ocean going trawlers, ferries and oil-rig supply vessels.
For the rest of us, the shipping forecast is a mantra, a lullaby; comforting in its regularity and consistancy: thought provoking as it takes you on an out-of-body journey round the British isles visiting oil-skin clad fisherman and watching them do battle with heavy seas and storm force winds.
The language is always the same and is spoken slowly, procisely and without emotion. This is important as a listener may be straining to hear in rough seas on the edge of the long wave transmission range.
Before I started the MBA, I would often fall asleep listening to the shipping forecast; nowdays it serves as a reminder to take a 10 minute break from the books and get a cup of tea!
The forecast format is very strict. It begins with gale warnings (winds of force 8 or more)
"...THERE ARE WARNINGS OF GALES IN HEBRIDES, BAILEY AND FAIR ISLE..."
A high level summary follows: The General Synopsis. This provides the position, pressure and track of pressure areas (e.g. Low, /Bailey, 983, deepening slowly, expected Fair Isle 978 by 0500 tomorrow).
This is followed by area specific forecasts covering:
- Wind direction and strengh(on the Beaufort scale). If the wind is changing direction it will either be described as veering (clockwise) or backing (anticlockwise).
- Precipitation (Rain, snow)
- Visibility (good, poor)
- Ice warnings (light, severe). Icing basically means that spray blown off the sea will freeze as soon as it hits the ship. This is not a good thing as it makes ships top heavy and could cause them to be less stable.
Once the ocean forecast is complete, there is then another section, in a slightly different format, that covers inshore waters, and takes the listener on another clockwise spin around the coast.
From Cape Wrath to Duncansby Head including Orkney. Wind: south 4 or 5, veering west 4 by midday, then later backing south to southwest 3 or 4. Patchy light rain or drizzle at first, but becoming fair by the afternoon. Visibility: good, risk moderate in light rain or drizzle at first.
The place names do not mean much to the average 'landlubber', but this does not matter - it is the hypnotic poetry of it that makes it essential listening:
Forties, Cromarty, Forth, Tyne, Dogger South veering southwest 4 or 5. Rain or showers. Moderate or good.
Fisher West or southwest 3 or 4, occasionally 5. Thundery rain. Moderate or poor.
German Bight Northwest 5 in east at first, otherwise southwest 3 increasing 5, occasionally 6. Thundery showers. Moderate or poor.
From Duncansby Head to Whitby. Wind: south 3 or 4, locally 5 in north of area at first, but becoming variable 2 or 3 in all parts during the afternoon. Partly cloudy at times, but fair. Visibility: good.
It is a kind of womb music for adults, a comfort blanket on the airwaves, a Long-wave lullaby. It never fails to calm me down after a bad day, and always helps me drift of to sleep...
for the latest forecast click here