Weather

5 Day Forecast

Last updated: We receive this data from the Met Office twice a day. If there is a change to the forecast between these times, the Met Office can send us further updates. Broadcast Meteorologists based at the BBC Weather Centre also quality control this data. These updates go to all our output every half an hour. The time the last update was received is detailed here.

Actual Forecast Location: The Met Office produce forecasts for 372 UK locations. Every UK postcode and most towns are linked to the most appropriate of these forecasts.

Symbols indicate the predominant weather for the day or night in question, calculated based on a weighting of different types of weather. So if a day is forecast to be sunny with the possibility of a brief shower, then we will see a sunny or partly cloudy symbol rather than a rain cloud. For the purposes of this forecast, 'day' runs from 0600 to 1800 and 'night' from 1800 to 0600.

The maximum temperature is the highest temperature forecast between dawn and dusk, and the minimum temperature is the lowest temperature expected from dusk on the day in question to dawn the next day. Use the °C | °F button in My Weather to switch the temperature between Celsius and Fahrenheit.

Wind speed and direction are the conditions expected at midday.

Wind direction is based on a 16 point compass: W, SW, SSW, etc. The wind direction states where the wind originates. Use the MPH | KM/H button in My Weather to switch the wind speed between miles per hour and kilometres per hour.

Humidity levels indicates how much water vapour the air contains compared to the maximum it could contain at that temperature.

Pressure is measured in millibars (mb)

Visibility

Visibility based on whether the human eye can see the following distances:

Very poor less than 1km

Poor between 1km and 4km

Moderate between 4km and 10 km

Good between 10km and 20km

Very good between 20km and 40km

Excellent more than 40km

Sunrise and sunset

There are many different ways to calculate the time of sunrise and sunset. In the algorithm we use, sunrise/set is considered to occur when the sun's upper limb is 35 arc minutes below the horizon.

5 Day Forecast daily detail

Last updated: We receive this data from the Met Office twice a day. If there is a change to the forecast between these times, the Met office can send us further updates. Broadcast Meteorologists based at the BBC Weather Centre also quality control this data. These updates go to all our output every half an hour. The time the last update was received is detailed here.

Actual Forecast Location: The Met Office produce forecasts for 372 UK locations. Every UK postcode and most towns are linked to the most appropriate of these forecasts.

Symbols indicate the weather for the stated time.

Temperatures are forecast for the stated time. Use the °C | °F button in My Weather to switch the temperature between Celsius and Fahrenheit.

Wind speed and direction are the conditions expected at the time given.

Wind direction is based on a 16 point compass: W, SW, SSW, etc. The wind direction states where the wind originates. Use the MPH | KM/H button in My Weather to switch the wind speed between miles per hour and kilometres per hour.

Humidity levels indicates how much water vapour the air contains compared to the maximum it could contain at that temperature.

Pressure is measured in millibars (mb)

Visibility

Visibility based on whether the human eye can see the following distances:

Very poor less than 1km

Poor between 1km and 4km

Moderate between 4km and 10 km

Good between 10km and 20km

Very good between 20km and 40km

Excellent more than 40km

Sunrise and sunset

There are many different ways to calculate the time of sunrise and sunset. In the algorithm we use, sunrise/set is considered to occur when the sun's upper limb is 35 arc minutes below the horizon.

Our Index Systems

All indices are available for UK towns and cities, and the UV index is also available for some European cities.

UV Index

The UV Index shows the risk level posed by ultraviolet radiation from the Sun. It ranges from one, the lowest risk level, to eleven, the highest. The risk from UV is greatest when the Sun reaches its highest point in the sky around midday. Thick cloud can greatly reduce UV levels but certain types of thin cloud, surprisingly, can magnify the effect.

Pollen Index

Our pollen index shows the risk from tree, grass and weed pollen and fungal spores. Weed pollens affect a small amount of sufferers from June to September with a peak in August. The pollen index changes emphasis slightly during the season to reflect the predominant types of pollen:

Tree pollen forecasts - 17th March until 20th May
Grass pollen forecasts - 21st May until 5th August
Weed pollen forecasts - 6th August until 25th August
Fungal spore forecasts - 26th August until 30th November

Air Pollution Index

The air pollution index uses a complex chemistry model to produce a forecast for five main pollutants: sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone and PM10 (particulate matter of less than 10 micrometers). The index shows the combined risk from these pollutants.

Our Pollen and Pollution Index systems use a three-point scale:

Low Risk
Effects are unlikely to be noticed, even by those sensitive to air pollution.

Moderate Risk
Sensitive people may notice mild effects but are unlikely to need to take any action.

High Risk
Sensitive people may notice significant effects and may need action to reduce or avoid them, for example by spending less time outdoors.

Coastal Forecast

This is a Met Office commissioned weather forecast for the inshore waters around the UK coast.

Detailed weather and sea state forecasts, for the next 24 hours in 4 time periods, are available for 24 sailing areas around the coast.

The data is sourced from the Met Office Mesoscale model and the UK Water Model.

The file is updated twice daily at 0500 and 1700. The figure in milliBars for pressure is followed by R (Rising), F (Falling) or S (Steady).

Find a Forecast

The Met Office supplies us with a total of 4320 forecast locations worldwide. You can search for a location by entering the name of a town, city or country. Entering a country name will take you to the forecast page for that country and you will see a list of all the forecasts available in that country in this Search box.

If you are searching for a forecast in the British Isles, you can also search by postcode or county.

If you are searching for a forecast in the USA, you can also search by state.

You can use the 'UK only' button to restrict your search to locations in the British Isles.

Location

This part of the page tells you what forecast you are looking at. Unless you are already looking at the forecast for a country, you can click on the country name to go to its own forecast.

Sometimes when you use Search we know the location you have searched for but do not have a forecast for that exact location. In that instance, we work out the nearest forecast and display that instead. Similarly with postcodes, we work out the nearest forecast and display that. In both cases, the location name after 'Forecast for' tells you the name of the forecast location you are looking at.

Please note that the nearest forecast may be at a different altitude to, and a distance from, the location you searched for.

Maps

Time

Times on the UK maps are shown in GMT (or BST when applicable).

World maps are shown in an appropriate time zone for the area:

Australasia - GMT +10 hours
Asia - East - GMT +8 hours
Asia - South East - GMT +7 hours
Asia - South - GMT +5 hours
Middle East - GMT +3 hours
Europe - East - GMT +2 hours
Africa - GMT +1 hour
Europe - North - GMT +1 hour
Europe - West - GMT + 0
America - South - GMT -4 hours
America - Central - GMT -6 hours
America - North - GMT -6 hours

What do the maps show?

We have a combination of infra red satellite and radar images for observed charts, and rain, cloud, snow, fog and frost for forecast charts. The charts show 12 hours of weather prior to the current time and also the weather to be expected for the next 5 days.

What is the difference between a 'forecast rain' chart and the 'rainfall radar' chart?

The 'forecast rain', or precipitation, chart shows where rainfall or snowfall is expected to fall at the time shown. Rain is represented by the blue areas, while the white areas show snow.

The rainfall radar chart tells you about weather that has already happened. Radar is used to detect where there is moisture in the atmosphere (which could be rain, snow, hail and very occasionally a large cumulonimbus cloud). The 'echoes' received by the radar are shown on the 'rainfall radar' chart.

This gives an excellent indication of where rain (or snow or hail) is falling at a given time. The brighter the colours, the heavier the rainfall. This data is quality controlled, however there are some circumstances where the radar may indicate that rain is falling, but it may be drying up before it reaches the ground, and very occasionally it may still show a very large moist cloud!

What does the UK temperature chart show?

Temperature charts show the temperatures expected for a given time. The coloured scale is explained in the temperature conversion scale near the chart and ranges from dark blue (extremely cold) to bright red (extremely hot).

What do 'pressure charts' show?

The white lines on the charts (isobars) join together places of equal pressure. The isobars are shown at intervals of 4 millibars. Isobar labels are currently only available on the Atlantic pressure chart at intervals of every three isobars. 'Low' and 'high' might be written at the centre of areas of low and high pressure.

The forecast information you see on our weather maps is updated four times a day (for the forecast for the next two days) in the UK or twice a day (for days 3-5 in the UK and all five days for non-UK locations).

Quality control of the data is carried out by the Duty Forecaster at BBC Weather Centre. Any changes made are sent to all of our outputs, so the data you see on the website is the same as that you see on TV.

My Weather

The My Location feature takes a location of your choice and uses it to display relevant information on the BBC News and Weather websites. You only need to set it in one place and the information is automatically shared.

On Weather, setting My Location means that when you go to www.bbc.co.uk/weather you will go directly to that forecast page without having to go via the normal Weather homepage. It is also available as a quick link in the My Weather box, which means you can access it more quickly from almost any part of the BBC Weather website.

You can also set up to six favourite locations. Adding a location to your favourites adds a link to your chosen location so you can access that page more quickly.

Use the buttons under Switch display units to change how we display temperature and wind speed.

Next 24 Hours

Last updated: We receive this data from the Met Office twice a day. If there is a change to the forecast between these times, the Met office can send us further updates. Broadcast Meteorologists based at the BBC Weather Centre also quality control this data. These updates go to all our output every half an hour. The time the last update was received is detailed here.

Actual Forecast Location: The Met Office produce forecasts for 372 UK locations. Every UK postcode and most towns are linked to the most appropriate of these forecasts.

Symbols indicate the weather for the stated time.

Temperatures are forecast for the stated time. Use the °C | °F button in My Weather to switch the temperature between Celsius and Fahrenheit.

Wind speed and direction are the conditions expected at the time given.

Wind direction is based on a 16 point compass: W, SW, SSW, etc. The wind direction states where the wind originates. Use the MPH | KM/H button in My Weather to switch the wind speed between miles per hour and kilometres per hour.

Humidity levels indicates how much water vapour the air contains compared to the maximum it could contain at that temperature.

Pressure is measured in millibars (mb)

Visibility

Visibility based on whether the human eye can see the following distances:

Very poor less than 1km

Poor between 1km and 4km

Moderate between 4km and 10 km

Good between 10km and 20km

Very good between 20km and 40km

Excellent more than 40km

Sunrise and sunset

There are many different ways to calculate the time of sunrise and sunset. In the algorithm we use, sunrise/set is considered to occur when the sun's upper limb is 35 arc minutes below the horizon.

Observations

Observed: We receive hourly observations for the UK and every three hours for the rest of the world. The time the last update was received is detailed here. Observations are made on the hour, so the weather information reflects the conditions at that time.

Temperature Use the °C | °F button in My Weather to switch the temperature between Celsius and Fahrenheit.

Wind direction is based on a 16 point compass: W, SW, SSW, etc. The wind direction states where the wind originates. Wind speed is measured in miles per hour. Use the MPH | KM/H button in My Weather to switch the wind speed between miles per hour and kilometres per hour.

Humidity levels indicates how much water vapour the air contains compared to the maximum it could contain at that temperature.

Pressure is measured in millibars (mb)

Visibility

Visibility based on whether the human eye can see the following distances:

Very poor less than 1km

Poor between 1km and 4km

Moderate between 4km and 10 km

Good between 10km and 20km

Very good between 20km and 40km

Excellent more than 40km

Shipping Forecast

Overview

This file is updated 4 times a day at or after approximately 0015, 0505, 1130 and 1725. It is read out on Radio 4 at 0048, 0520, 1201 and 1754 (local time).

All broadcasts are on LW on 1515m (198 kHz) and some transmissions are on VHF. You can also listen using the link on our website.

It gives a summary of gale warnings in force, a general synopsis and area forecasts for specified sea areas around the UK. The radio bulletin also includes the coastal weather reports (0048 and 0536 only) but these are not currently available on our site.

The music played before the Shipping Forecast is 'Sailing By' composed by Ronald Binge.

Unfortunately, the version of 'Sailing By' we use is not available commercially. However, a similar recording, featuring the late Ronnie Aldrich on the piano, has been issued by: Seaward Records Ltd, Strathallan Castle, Port St Mary, Isle of Man.

The tune is also available on a CD, 'The Music of Ronald Binge', from Marco Polo Records, number 8.223515.

Area Forecast

Area forecasts for the waters around the United Kingdom are disseminated via NAVTEX transmitters at Cullercoats, Niton and Portpatrick and we publish these here.

They are broadcast (and published on our site) at approximately 0620/1820 (Portpatrick), 0840/2040 (Niton) and 0900/2100 (Cullercoats). These give a summary of gale warnings in force, a general synopsis and 24 hour forecasts plus and outlook for the following 24 hours.

Extended Outlook

Once a day an Extended Outlook is broadcast via each of the UK NAVTEX stations on 518 kHz. The extended outlook aims to signpost expected hazards for the Cullercoats, Niton and Portpatrick areas during a three-day outlook period beyond the period of the 24 hour forecast. We publish this file at 2200 each day.

High Seas Forecast

We publish at 0800 and 2000 GMT the text of these forecasts for the high seas Met Area 1 which are broadcast by the GMDSS Inmarsat EGC SafetyNET service twice a day at 0930 and 2130 GMT.

The bulletin is in three parts: storm warnings, general synopsis and forecasts for the sea areas. Storm warnings are broadcast at other times when necessary but these are not currently published on our site.

Warnings

We currently publish ad hoc Warnings and their associated cancellation messages as soon as we receive them on our site.

Previous gale or other warnings for other areas may still be in force. Old cancellations will only be over-copied when a new file arrives and a blank space will be left if we have received nothing.

Please always refer to the latest Shipping and Inshore Waters forecast, or other sources, including Coast Radio, NAVTEX and Coastguards, for more complete information.

In the Shipping Forecast, Gale Warnings (Force 8 and above) are issued whenever mean wind speeds are expected to reach or exceed 34 knots (Force 8), or gusts (other than in isolated thunderstorms) are expected to reach or exceed 43 knots.

Strong Wind Warnings (Force 6 and above) are issued when required for the Inshore Waters of the UK.

In the forecasts for the High Seas of the North Atlantic, Storm Warnings are issued when the mean wind speed is expected to reach or exceed 48 knots (Force 10 or above). These are not currently published on our site.

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