At the level of pure sound there is a lilting, comforting, melodic
quality to the shipping forecast that is the same every day. The
announcer speaks very slowly and is always precise: Lives may depend on
the information being broadcast, and the listener may be straining to
hear in rough seas on the edge of transmission range. The target listener does not want
to hear a lot of superfluous nonsense. Cut to the chase.
Where are the biggest weather threats right now, and do I need to worry about
them?
The time (in the 24-hour clock, of course) is a key part of the
picture, for the weather picture can change dramatically at sea. All
the numbers around 1000, though, are not times but barometer readings
of, in this case, low pressure systems moving across the Atlantic.
The bulk of the shipping forecast is devoted to different areas of the
sea around the UK, giving specifics for each one for the next 24 hours:
Viking, North Utsire, South Utsire South 3 or 4, becoming variable 2
or 3 for a time. Rain then showers. Moderate or good. The first part
is the name of the area being covered, the second the information on
wind direction and strength, rainfall and visibility.
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, of course, mean very little for the average land-bound
listener, but every sailor knows which area he's in, and which areas
he's due to pass through in the next few hours. Some of the forecasts
are pure poetry:
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.
(That could be Beckett.)
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.
To those with no idea where these places are, the forecast acts like a
lullaby, soothing the mind. (For this purpose, it's actually an
advantage when the content means nothing to you.) On the other hand, it takes those with any geographical knowledge
whatsoever on a virtual tour of the British coast, and takes those with imaginations onto the ships themselves, where they can imagine themselves working in
difficult and dangerous conditions, always at the mercy of the those thundery showers and south veering southwest winds.
Finally, the British are famously obsessed with the weather, which has
a habit of complicating plans, whether they be important invasions
or family gatherings. The Shipping Forecast offers a way in which that obsession can be extended out into the surrounding oceans, giving a glimpse of the weather around the country as opposed to the more commonly broadcast forecasts about weather over the country. One can imagine an ideal shipping forecast, taking in the seas around the world, then continuing on to describe cloud cover on Venus or storms on Jupiter, and so on into infinity.
— Damon Leigh (damon@damonleigh.co.uk)
The BBC Shipping Forecast