What Is The Shipping Forecast?

In the early hours of the 26th October 1859, a tragedy would unfold that would change the nature of maritime travel around the British Isles. The Royal Charter was a new steam clipper, launched only four years prior, complete with an iron hull, modern engine technology and luxury accommodation for its first class passengers. Despite its mod cons, the ship’s journey would be cut short just 50 miles from its destination in Liverpool, wrecked on the shores of Anglesea in what would become known as the worst storm of the 19th century. Over 450 lives were lost, and the scale of the tragedy would prompt the then head of the Meteorological Service, Sir Robert Fitzroy, to develop the first gale warning system.

This new system would see the Meteorological Service assess weather patterns and send out telegraphs to observation stations at the ports likely to be affected, warning of incoming storms. Those warnings would then be hoisted on staffs at the ports, and repeated at points along the coast to warn ships of the imminent danger. Over time this developed into the modern Shipping Forecast, first broadcast on New Year’s Day, 1924.

An essential lifeline for seafarers navigating the treacherous waters that surround the UK, the forecast can still be heard today, 100 years later, four times a day on BBC Radio 4.

The forecast splits the waters surrounding the UK into 31 areas, named after the underwater and coastal regions that encircle our coastline. Tyne, Thames, Dogger, Hebrides… names with their own histories and lore. They are always read in the same order, starting with Viking in the north east and moving clockwise around the British Isles.

The weather forecast for each area is always given in the same format. To the uninitiated, the words may seem jumbled, making little sense. However, once understood, the forecast reveals its efficiency, communicating precise weather conditions in concise, poetic language:

The area comes first, often as multiple areas grouped together. The forecast for those areas is then given, starting with the wind direction. A ‘backing’ wind means its direction is moving counter clockwise, veering if the wind is moving clockwise. The wind strength follows, given using the Beaufort scale, going from ‘Calm’ at 0 up to ‘Hurricane Force’ 12. This is followed by the type of precipitation one can expect, and the forecast ends with visibility, rated from very poor to good.

From a vital lifeline for those who braved our coastal waters, the Shipping Forecast has evolved to take a nostalgic and sentimental place in the hearts of the British public, its strange poetry inspiring something of a cult following. Names of Shipping Forecast areas have featured in songs by Radiohead and Blur, and it is even the inspiration behind our own brand name.

The Shipping Forecast area known as Finisterre, west of the rugged Galician headland of the same name, was renamed FitzRoy in 2002 in recognition of the forecast’s creator, Sir Robert FitzRoy. One year later, Finisterre was born.

To this day, the Shipping Forecast and its melancholic poetry remain a source of inspiration. A homage to the forecast can still be found on our history page, telling the story of our Founder. Sat in the back of his parents car, listening as rain lashed against the windows, imagining small boats tossed about in an impossibly vast and tempestuous ocean…

It is an enduring reminder of our origins, the power of the sea, and the bravery of those who venture out to explore its waters.