The Shipping Forecast
The Shipping Forecast, broadcast daily on BBC Radio 4, has become an iconic feature of the British airwaves.
The origins of shipping forecast
After the loss of steam clipper Royal Charter in a violent storm off the coast of Anglesey in October 1859, Robert Fitzroy introduced the first British storm warning service for shipping.
The first telegraphic warning for shipping was issued on 5 February 1861.
Gale warnings were issued by telegraph to the observation stations likely to be affected.
On receipt, the station would hoist the appropriate signal on a staff, this was then repeated at points along the coast by the coast guard or by other authorised stations.
First shipping bulletin
A weather bulletin called Weather Shipping started on 1st January 1924, broadcast twice daily at 0900 and 2000 GMT, from the powerful Air Ministry station G.F.A. in London. It moved to BBC Longwave in 1925.
The map shows the sea areas and stations originally used in 1924.
New shipping areas added
In 1932, a northern area was added to the shipping bulletin, mainly for the benefit of the increasing number of trawlers fishing within its limits.
A pause in the shipping forecast
Radio weather bulletins ceased on the outbreak of hostilities in 1939. They were resumed again in 1945.
By 1948 most shipping services had returned to normal and the Shipping Forecast was expanded to cover a wider area.
Changing sea area names in the North Sea
In 1955 a meeting of meteorologists representing countries bordering the North Sea recommended changes in some of the areas and names in North Sea.
Iceland was also to be renamed South East Iceland to clearly identify its position.
All these changes were introduced in 1956.
From August 1984, new common area boundaries for Shipping Forecasts were introduced throughout the North Sea region. This was the result of a special agreement reached between all the countries bordering the North Sea.
Two new areas, North and South Utsire, were also introduced.
Recognition for Robert FitzRoy, founder of the Met Office
In February 2002, in recognition of Admiral Robert FitzRoy's work in forming the Met Office in 1854, the sea area Finisterre was renamed FitzRoy.
At the same time some subtle changes were made to the boundaries of the sea areas in the western approaches.
Shipping Forecast by Met OfficeMet Office
Shipping Forecast area names
A journey through some of the Shipping Forecast area names
Viking
Named after a sandbank in the North Sea
Trafalgar
Named after a headland (Cape Trafalgar, Spain)
Shannon
Named after a River estuary (River Shannon)
North and South Utsire
Named after Utsira, an island off the west coast of Norway known for the significant increase in its population during the spring herring fisheries.
Utsira was spelled Utsire between 1875 and 1924 and this spelling was adopted for the Shipping Forecast areas.
Rockall
Named after an island/rock stack in the Atlantic Ocean
Forties
An area in the North Sea named after a sandbank and 'long forties' which is fairly consistently forty fathoms deep.
German Bight
Named after an area between the two headlands of The Netherlands and Denmark
Find out more about the names of all the Shipping Forecast areas in our factsheet.
