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- The marine weather forecast for the North Sea and Baltic Sea is issued by the DWD's Marine Weather Service Hamburg and consists of the general situation and the forecast for the individual sea areas.<\/li>\n
- Wind strengths are given as Beaufort numbers without units and refer to the mean wind; gusts are named separately.<\/li>\n
- Sea state is given in metres, visibility in stages from dense fog to good visibility.<\/li>\n
- Strong wind means 6 to 7 Beaufort, storm 8 to 9, hurricane 10 to 12, in each case as mean wind.<\/li>\n
- You can access the forecast on the internet, on the radio, via NAVTEX and via VHF marine radio.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
How is the DWD sea weather forecast structured?<\/h2>\n
The sea weather forecast begins with the weather situation and then goes through each sea area, covering what the wind, weather with visibility and sea state are doing. Warnings appear separately as their own bulletins.<\/p>\n
Header and weather situation<\/h3>\n
At the very top it says when the forecast was issued: \"issued by the Deutscher Wetterdienst, Seewetterdienst Hamburg, on \u2026\" with date and time. Always check this line so you do not accidentally read an outdated edition. The weather situation then describes in a few sentences where lows and highs are located, how strong they are and where they are moving. Behind the low or high there is often the central pressure in hectopascals, for example \"deep low 947\". This part does not yet tell you anything about your sea area, but explains why the wind is developing as described afterwards.<\/p>\n
Forecast<\/h3>\n
The main section follows, divided by sea areas. For each area there are three lines in a fixed order, labelled \"Wind:\", \"Visibility\/Weather:\" and \"sea:\". Online the forecast is divided into two daily blocks, for example \"Sunday\" and \"Monday\".<\/p>\n
Warnings<\/h3>\n
Wind and storm warnings for the German coasts are issued by the DWD as separate bulletins, around the clock. A warning remains in force until it is replaced by a new one or cancelled. So if no warning appears in the forecast itself, it does not mean that none is in effect.<\/p>\n
Which sea areas does the sea weather forecast for the North Sea and Baltic Sea cover?<\/h2>\n
The forecast divides the North Sea and Baltic Sea into fixed sea areas which always appear in the same order. For the German North Sea coast, the German Bight is particularly relevant.<\/p>\n
In the current Sea weather forecast for the North Sea and Baltic Sea<\/a> these areas appear in sequence:<\/p>\n
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- Southwestern North Sea, German Bight, Fischer, Skagerrak<\/li>\n
- Kattegat, Belts and Sound<\/li>\n
- Western Baltic, Southern Baltic, Southeastern Baltic<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
The areas are defined by the sea, not by national borders. On longer passages your course often touches more than one area, so it is worth reading all the areas concerned and not just the one around your departure harbour. Within an area the forecast may highlight parts, for example with \"northern part\" or \"eastern part\".<\/p>\n
Reading the sea weather forecast: What do the wind details mean?<\/h2>\n
A wind detail such as \"southwest 6, gusts 8\" means: the wind is coming from the southwest, the mean wind is force 6 Beaufort, individual gusts reach force 8 Beaufort.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\nMean wind and Beaufort<\/h3>\n
The number after the direction is a Beaufort scale value. This refers to the mean wind, averaged over ten minutes at ten metres above the water surface. If it says \"5 to 6\", the mean wind during the forecast period lies within this range. If you prefer to think in knots or km\/h, our article on converting knots to km\/h<\/a>.<\/p>\n
B\u00f6en<\/h3>\n
will help. Gusts are given separately after the mean wind, for example \"gusts 8\". In unstable air with showers, gusts can be up to two Beaufort scales stronger than the mean wind, at fronts and in thunderstorms even more. For planning purposes both therefore matter: the mean wind determines how much sail area you can carry continuously, the gusts how much reserve you should allow.<\/p>\n
Direction, veering and \"variable\"<\/h3>\n
The wind direction indicates where the wind is coming from, in eight directions from north to northwest. Each indication covers a range of about 22.5 degrees either side. In addition there are several fixed terms:<\/p>\n
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- Veering means the wind turns clockwise, for example from south via southwest to west. Backing is the opposite direction. A change is only mentioned from about 45 degrees onwards.<\/li>\n
- Variable means the wind has no fixed direction. The DWD only uses the word for light winds up to about 5 knots.<\/li>\n
- Increasing and decreasing describe the wind becoming stronger or weaker over the course of the period, for example \"southwest 4, increasing 6\".<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
What do sea state and visibility mean in the marine weather forecast?<\/h2>\n
The sea state is given in metres and describes the typical height of the higher waves. Visibility is given in words which correspond to fixed distances.<\/p>\n
Sea state in metres<\/h3>\n
The metre figure corresponds roughly to the average height of the highest third of all waves. Individual waves can be more than twice as high; the DWD uses a factor of 2.2. At \"sea: 2 meter\" you must therefore reckon with individual waves of a good four metres. In the North Sea, sea state from three metres onwards is highlighted; in the Baltic Sea from 1.5 metres onwards.<\/p>\n
Visibility categories<\/h3>\n
The visibility statements follow this classification:<\/p>\n
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- dense fog: under 50 metres<\/li>\n
- fog: 50 to 1,000 metres<\/li>\n
- hazy: 1 to 4 kilometres<\/li>\n
- moderate visibility: 4 to 10 kilometres<\/li>\n
- good visibility: over 10 kilometres<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
In the report, visibility appears in the line \"Visibility\/Weather:\" together with the weather, for example \"at times rain or shower with poor visibility\" or \"shower with moderate visibility\". \"Poor visibility\" means reduced visibility below moderate visibility. For passages in channels or near traffic separation schemes, this information is often just as important as the wind.<\/p>\n
What do \"first\", \"later\" or \"locally\" mean?<\/h2>\n
These words divide up the forecast period or the sea area. They tell you when and where something is happening, without giving times or coordinates.<\/p>\n
For time, a simple rule of thirds applies. \"First\", \"rapidly\" or \"quickly\" refers to the first third of the period, an event without a time reference to the middle third, \"later\" to the final third. \"Little change\" means hardly anything is happening. For a forecast covering a whole day, \"later shifting west\" therefore means towards the end.<\/p>\n
\"For a time\" and \"at times\" describe something not lasting the whole period, for example gusts or higher sea state. \"Locally\" and \"in some areas\", on the other hand, are location references: what is described then occurs only in parts of the sea area, such as thunderstorms, fog or individual stronger wind fields such as \"locally 9\".<\/p>\n
From what point does the DWD issue a strong wind or gale warning?<\/h2>\n
The marine weather service distinguishes three levels according to mean wind: strong wind at force 6 and 7 (officially \"wind warning\" on the coast), gale at 8 and 9, storm at 10 to 12. For the German coasts, gust warnings are added.<\/p>\n