Southern Bight , also known as the Flanders Bight , and (in Dutch) the Hoofden , is the southern bight of the North Sea bounded by the coasts of the Netherlands , Belgium , France and Great Britain . The Southern Bight is south west of the German Bight and the Wadden Sea . The Southern Bight is roughly delimited in the north by a roughly straight line between The Wash and the West Frisian Islands going south of the Dogger Bank , a large shallow part in the North Sea, and the Outer Silver Pit , a deep water channel south of the Dogger Bank. It corresponds to sea area Thames and the northern part of sea area Dover .
53-740: There are many sand banks in the Southern Bight. From the Strait of Dover to the Norfolk Banks , there is a deep water channel, which enters into wherein the water is about 30 metres deep or deeper. At the end of the English Channel, this depth increases to about 100 metres. The North Sea as a whole has characteristics which are similar to those of the Atlantic Ocean, whereas the Southern Bight has hydrography characteristics which most resemble those of
106-407: A 24-hour watch over the strait and enforcing a strict regime of shipping lanes . In addition to the intensive north-east to south-west traffic, the strait is crossed from north-west to south-east by ferries linking Dover to Calais and Dunkirk . Until 1994 these provided the only route across it except for air transport. The Channel Tunnel now provides an alternative route, crossing beneath
159-444: A general synopsis of pressure areas, then a forecast for each individual sea area covering wind speed and direction, precipitation, and visibility. Extended forecasts at 00:48 and 05:20 include information from coastal weather stations and inshore waters . The unique and distinctive presentation style of these broadcasts has led to their attracting an audience much wider than that directly interested in maritime weather conditions. It
212-564: A plan to move the late night broadcast by 12 minutes triggered angry newspaper editorials and debates in the UK Parliament and was ultimately scrapped. Similar outcry greeted the Met Office's decision to rename Finisterre to FitzRoy, but in that case, the decision was carried through. Peter Jefferson, who read the Forecast for 40 years until 2009, says that he received letters from listeners across
265-867: A right of transit passage under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea allows vessels of other nations to move freely through the strait. On a clear day, it is possible to see the opposite coastline of England from France and vice versa with the naked eye, with the most famous and obvious sight being the White Cliffs of Dover from the French coastline and shoreline buildings on both coastlines, as well as lights on either coastline at night, as in Matthew Arnold 's poem " Dover Beach ". Most maritime traffic between
318-561: A second flood about 225,000 years ago supported by glaciers extending from areas then land such as the Zuiderzee , the Meuse and Rhine were ice-dammed into a lake that broke catastrophically through a high weak barrier (perhaps chalk, or an end-moraine left by the ice sheet). Both floods cut massive flood channels in the dry bed of the English Channel, somewhat like the Channeled Scablands or
371-434: A summary of the general situation, followed by forecasts for coastal sections, moving clockwise, using a format similar to that used for sea areas. The 00:48 Shipping Forecast, at the end of the broadcast day, is traditionally preceded by the playing of " Sailing By ", a light orchestral piece by Ronald Binge . This is only very rarely omitted, generally when the schedule is running late. Though occasionally played in full, it
424-617: A warning service for shipping in February 1861, using telegraph communications. This remained the United Kingdom's Met Office primary responsibility for some time afterward. In 1911, the Met Office began issuing marine weather forecasts which included gale and storm warnings via radio transmission for areas around Great Britain. This service was discontinued during and following the First World War , between 1914 and June 1921, and again during
477-489: Is Milford Haven Coastguard... For the Maritime Safety Information, list on Channel 62. This is Milford Haven Coastguard." A similar broadcast on MF is initially announced on 2182 kHz, with a further frequency specified, e.g., 1770 kHz. VHF optimum range is approximately 30 nautical miles (nmi), effectively line of sight, whereas MF range is much greater at approximately 150 nmi, allowing ships in
530-689: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This Netherlands location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Strait of Dover The Strait of Dover or Dover Strait , historically known as the Dover Narrows , is the strait at the narrowest part of the English Channel , marking the boundary between the Channel and the North Sea , and separating Great Britain from continental Europe . The shortest distance across
583-424: Is common for only a section of the piece to be broadcast; that section being the length required to fill the gap between the previous programme's ending and the start of the forecast at precisely 00:48. "Sailing By" serves as an identification tool – it is distinctive and as such assists anyone attempting to tune in. The forecast is then followed by a more general weather report, the sign-off, traditionally ending with
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#1732877059382636-590: Is followed quite strictly, although some continuity announcers read out the actual date of issue as opposed to the word "today". This is followed by gale warnings (winds of force 8 or more on the Beaufort scale ), if any (e.g., "There are warnings of gales in Rockall, Malin, Hebrides, Bailey, and Fair Isle"). This sometimes follows the opposite format (e.g., "There are warnings of gales in all areas except Biscay, Trafalgar and FitzRoy"). The general synopsis follows, giving
689-471: Is frequently referred to and parodied in British popular culture. The Shipping Forecast was established by Vice-Admiral Robert FitzRoy , the first professional weather forecaster , captain of HMS Beagle and founder of the Met Office. In October 1859, the steam clipper Royal Charter was wrecked in a strong storm off Anglesey ; 450 people lost their lives. In response to this loss, FitzRoy introduced
742-461: Is less than 1,000 m (3,300 ft). When severe winter cold combines with strong winds and a cold sea, icing can occur, normally only in sea area Southeast Iceland; if expected, icing warnings (light, moderate or severe) are given as the last item of each sea area forecast. Examples of area forecasts: On 10 January 1993, during the Braer Storm , a record North Atlantic low pressure of 914 mb
795-512: Is no longer a separate long wave schedule for Radio 4, so the number of broadcasts per day has been reduced to two on weekdays and three at weekends, at the following ( UK local ) times. They can be received on long wave, FM, DAB and online via BBC Sounds . The 00:48 and 17:54 forecasts are read by the duty announcer, but the 05:20 forecast is read by the weather forecaster (there being no separate Radio 4 continuity operation at that time). Until 31 March 2024, there were four broadcasts per day at
848-410: Is only officially used when announcing force 12 winds. Visibility is given in the format "Good", meaning that the visibility is greater than 5 nautical miles (9.3 km; 5.8 mi); "Moderate", where visibility is between 2 and 5 nmi (3.7 and 9.3 km; 2.3 and 5.8 mi) nautical miles; "Poor", where visibility is between 1,000 metres and two nautical miles and " Fog ", where visibility
901-594: The Met Office and broadcast by BBC Radio 4 on behalf of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency . The forecast dates back over 150 years. There are currently two or three broadcasts per day, at 00:48, 05:20, and 17:54 (weekends only) UK local time . In the forecast, the waters around the British Isles are divided into 31 sea areas, also known as weather areas. The forecast begins by listing areas with gale warnings, followed by
954-485: The Second World War between 1939 and 1945. The programme was first broadcast on the radio on 1 January 1924, then called Weather Shipping . From October 1925, it has been broadcast by BBC. Today, although most ships have onboard technology to provide the Forecast's information, they still use it to check their data. On Friday 30 May 2014, for the first time in more than 90 years, BBC Radio 4 failed to broadcast
1007-562: The Short Straits (an alternative name for this strait) about 425,000 years ago. A narrow deep channel along the middle of the strait is the remnants of the main (summer) outflow of the northern Ustrom glacial lake (a collect for other then-seasonal rivers, in winter iced up, such as the Thames and Weser) in the last Ice Age . A deposit in East Anglia marks the old preglacial northward course of
1060-841: The Urstrom ) flows northeast into the North Sea as the sea (covering most of the Netherlands) fell during the start of the first of the Pleistocene Ice Ages . The new ice unusually created a dam from Scandinavia to Scotland, and the Rhine, combined with the Thames and drainage from much of north Europe , created a vast lake behind the dam, which eventually spilled over the Weald into the English Channel. This overflow followed by further scouring became recognisably
1113-532: The Wabash River in the USA. A further update in 2017 attributed a series of previously described underwater holes in the Channel floor, "100m deep" and in places "several kilometres in diameter", to lake water plunging over a rock ridge causing isolated depressions or plunge pools . The melting ice and rising sea levels submerged Doggerland , the area linking Britain to France, around 6,500–6,200 BCE. The Lobourg strait,
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#17328770593821166-502: The 46 m (151 ft) average depth. They help increase diversity in the local species – some of which are endemic to the strait. Moreover, this is a transition zone for the species of the Atlantic Ocean and those of the southern part of the North Sea. This mix of various environments promotes a wide variety of wildlife. The Ridens de Boulogne , a 10–20 m (33–66 ft) deep rocky shoal, partially sand-capped,15 nmi (28 km; 17 mi) west of Boulogne , boasts
1219-603: The Atlantic Ocean and North Sea to receive the broadcast. The forecasts sent over the Navtex system use a similar format and the same sea areas. RTÉ Radio 1 broadcasts coastal reports for Ireland similar to those in the Shipping Forecast for the UK. Also in Sweden, Svergies Radio P1 broadcasts maritime weather broadcasts ( Land- och sjöväderrapporten [ sv ] ) similar to
1272-511: The Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea and Baltic Sea passes through the Strait of Dover, rather than taking the longer and more dangerous route around the north of Scotland. The strait is one of the busiest international seaways in the world, used by over 400 commercial vessels daily. This has made traffic safety a critical issue, with HM Coastguard and the Maritime Gendarmerie maintaining
1325-505: The Channel. Zeb Soanes , a regular Shipping Forecast reader, described it thus: To the non-nautical, it is a nightly litany of the sea. It reinforces a sense of being islanders with a proud seafaring past. Whilst the listener is safely tucked-up in their bed, they can imagine small fishing-boats bobbing about at Plymouth or 170ft waves crashing against Rockall. Soanes also wrote the foreword to The Shipping Forecast Puzzle Book ( BBC Books , 2020), in which he explains: The forecast gives
1378-577: The English Channel was almost mainly land at the height of the last ice age. The predominant geology of both and of the seafloor is chalk . Although somewhat resistant to erosion, erosion of both coasts has created the famous white cliffs of Dover in the UK and the Cap Blanc Nez in France. The Channel Tunnel was bored through solid chalk – compacted remains of sea creatures and marine- deposited , ground up calciferous rock/soil debris. The Rhine (as
1431-492: The English Channel, and the inputs from various European rivers. The bight's four main river sources are the Rhine , Meuse , Scheldt and the Thames , but it is also impacted by the Ems , Elbe , and Humber . 52°04′02″N 02°51′02″E / 52.06722°N 2.85056°E / 52.06722; 2.85056 This article about a specific oceanic location or ocean current
1484-453: The Lobourg strait and 20 m (66 ft) at the highest banks. The seabed forms successions of three habitats: The strong tidal currents of the strait at depth slow around its rocky masses as these stimulate countercurrents and deep, calm pockets where many species can find shelter. In these calmer lee zones, the water is clearer than in the rest of the strait; thus algae can grow despite
1537-560: The Met Office and the BBC. It is also available on BBC Sounds . On 18 December 1993, as part of the Arena Radio Night , BBC Radio 4 and BBC 2 collaborated on a one off simulcast so the shipping forecast – read that night by Laurie Macmillan – could be seen as well as heard. To date, it is the only time that it has been broadcast on television. The 31 sea areas covered in the forecast are as shown in this table and map. The forecast follows
1590-636: The Shipping Forecast (and numbered on the map) are: The inshore waters forecast uses the following coastal areas of the United Kingdom: The Shipping Forecast follows a very strict format. Excluding the header line, it has a limit of 350 words—except for the 0048 broadcast, where it is increased to 380 to accommodate Trafalgar's inclusion. Forecast times are spelled out as digits on the 24-hour clock, for example "two-three-double-O", and barometric pressures are pronounced as whole numbers, for example "a thousand and five". With regard to
1643-547: The Shipping Forecast at 0520. Staff at Broadcasting House were reading out the report but it was not transmitted. Listeners instead heard BBC World Service . The 150th anniversary of the shipping forecast was on 24 August 2017. Between 30 March 2020 and 5 July 2020, as a result of emergency rescheduling because of the COVID-19 pandemic , the number of bulletins a day was reduced to three, at 00:48, 05:33, and either 12:03 (weekdays) or 17:54 (weekends). From 1 April 2024, there
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1696-574: The Shipping Forecast can be heard by anyone tuned into BBC Radio 4 . The Coastguard's broadcasts follow the same format as the shipping forecast using the same terminology and style, but the information only normally applies to the area sector or region covered by that particular Coastguard Co-ordination Centre (such as the Bristol Channel , for instance). Announcements of pending broadcasts by HM Coastguard are given on marine channel 16 VHF and are announced with (e.g.), " Sécurité . All stations. This
1749-457: The Shipping Forecast during its weather forecasts which its receives from SMHI . The Swedish forecast uses the same names as the British forecast in the areas that Shipping Forecast uses, except they are translated into Swedish for example German Bight is known as Tyska bukten. The Shipping Forecast is immensely popular with the British public; it attracts listeners in the hundreds of thousands daily – far more than actually require it. In 1995,
1802-460: The UK saying that the 0048 broadcast helped them get to sleep after a long day. The Controller of BBC Radio 4, Mark Damazer, attempted to explain its popularity: It scans poetically. It's got a rhythm of its own. It's eccentric, it's unique, it's English. It's slightly mysterious because nobody really knows where these places are. It takes you into a faraway place that you can't really comprehend unless you're one of these people bobbing up and down in
1855-593: The Urstrom-Thames when it also drained Doggerland . The deep sea floor east of Lincolnshire and East Yorkshire , connecting to the Atlantic via the Pentland Firth in the last glaciation (of over 300,000 years) is a necessary pre-condition for the relatively late cutting through of the Strait to the south. Likewise, a 2007 study concluded that the Strait was formed by erosion caused by two major floods. The first
1908-676: The areas North Utsire and South Utsire were created. In 2002, the area Finisterre was renamed FitzRoy, to avoid confusion with a different area called Finisterre used by the Spanish meteorological service. The sea areas match the forecast areas used by other North Sea countries, though some names differ. The Dutch KNMI and Norwegian counterpart names Forties the Fladen Ground , while Météo-France uses Pas-de-Calais for Dover, Antifer for Wight, Casquets for Portland and Ouessant for Plymouth. The coastal weather stations named in
1961-464: The conditions are expected to be similar. Wind direction is given first, then strength (on the Beaufort scale ), followed by precipitation , if any, and (usually) lastly visibility. Change in wind direction is indicated by "veering" ( clockwise change) or "backing" (anti-clockwise change). Winds at or above force 8 are also described by name for emphasis, i.e., Gale 8, Severe Gale 9, Storm 10, Violent Storm 11 and Hurricane force 12. The word "force"
2014-554: The deepest part the strait, runs its 6 km (4 mi)wide slash on a NNE–SSW axis. Nearer to the French coast than to the English, it borders the Varne sandbank (shoals) where it plunges to 68 m (223 ft) and further south, the Ridge bank (shoals) (French name " Colbart " ) with a maximum depth of 62 m (203 ft). The depth of the strait varies between 68 m (223 ft) at
2067-688: The following ( UK local ) times: The Shipping Forecast has been broadcast on BBC longwave radio services so the signal can be received clearly at sea all around the British Isles , regardless of time of day or radio conditions. The forecast was broadcast on the BBC National Programme until September 1939, and then after the Second World War on the BBC Light Programme (later BBC Radio 2 ) until November 1978. When BBC Radio 4 took over
2120-529: The following changes: that the area Heligoland be renamed German Bight, to conform with the name generally used by other countries; that a new area, Fisher, be split off from the north-eastern half of Dogger; that a new area, Viking, be split off from the northern half of Forties; and that the area Iceland be renamed Southeast Iceland to clarify its position. After international consultation, these were adopted in 1956. In August 1984, to conform with common North Sea area boundaries agreed upon by neighbouring countries,
2173-926: The highest profusion of maerl in the strait. Thus some 682 km (263 sq mi) of the strait is classified as a Natura 2000 protection zone named Ridens et dunes hydrauliques du Pas de Calais (Ridens and sub-aqueous dunes of the Dover Strait). This includes the sub-aqueous dunes of Varne, Colbart, Vergoyer and Bassurelle, the Ridens de Boulogne , and the Lobourg channel which provides calmer and clearer waters due to its depth reaching 68 m (223 ft). Many crossings other than in conventional vessels have been attempted, including by pedalo , jetpack , bathtub , amphibious vehicle and more commonly by swimming . Since French law bans many of them, unlike English law , most such crossings originate in England. In
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2226-418: The imagination and leads it into uncharted waters whilst you sleep. Dependable, reassuring and never hurried, in these especially uncertain times The Shipping Forecast is a still small voice of calm across the airwaves. Another regular reader of the Forecast, Kathy Clugston , described it as "Like a lullaby, almost". Jo Ellison of Financial Times wrote that "Over time it has become a beloved cultural icon,
2279-412: The late 17th century during the " Little Ice Age ", there were reports of severe winter ice in the English Channel and Strait of Dover, including a case in 1684 of only a league of open water remaining between Dover and Calais. Shipping Forecast The Shipping Forecast is a BBC Radio broadcast of weather reports and forecasts for the seas around the British Isles . It is produced by
2332-556: The longwave frequency from Radio 2 on 23 November 1978, the Shipping Forecast was moved to Radio 4 to keep it broadcasting on longwave. As part of the BBC's plans to switch off the BBC Radio 4 longwave transmitter, it reduced daily broadcasts of the Shipping Forecast to the FM simulcast schedule of twice on weekdays and three times on weekends in April 2024. The Shipping Forecast is published online by
2385-401: The order shown, going clockwise around the British Isles, with each area except Trafalgar, Irish Sea, Shannon, and Fair Isle bordering the previous. Trafalgar is only included in the 00:48 forecast, except when gales or more are due there. These areas still largely follow the format of the chart adopted in 1949. In 1955, meteorologists from countries bordering the North Sea met and recommended
2438-402: The position, pressure (in millibars ) and track of pressure areas (e.g., "Low, Rockall, 987, deepening rapidly, expected Fair Isle 964 by 0700 tomorrow"). With the information provided in the Shipping Forecast it is possible to compile a pressure chart for the coasts of northwestern Europe. Each area's 24-hour forecast is then read out. Several areas may be combined into a single forecast where
2491-716: The presenter wishing the audience a good night, the national anthem " God Save the King " and the closedown of the station for the day, with the BBC World Service taking over the frequencies after the pips of the Greenwich Time Signal at 01:00. The Shipping Forecast should not be confused with similar broadcasts given by HM Coastguard to vessels at sea tuned into marine VHF and MF radio frequencies. HM Coastguard's broadcasts can only be heard by vessels or persons using or tuned into marine VHF and MF radio frequencies, whereas
2544-705: The strait at an average depth of 45 m (148 ft) below the seabed. The town of Dover gives its name to one of the sea areas of the British Shipping Forecast . The formation of strait was through scouring by erosion . It had for many millennia (since the last warm interglacial ) been a land bridge that linked the Weald in Great Britain to the Boulonnais in the Pas de Calais . Though pitted by troughs and rivers,
2597-456: The strait, at approximately 20 miles (32 kilometres), is from the South Foreland , northeast of Dover in the English county of Kent , to Cap Gris Nez , a cape near to Calais in the French département of Pas-de-Calais . Between these points lies the most popular route for cross-channel swimmers . The entire strait is within the territorial waters of France and the United Kingdom, but
2650-462: The timing of weather events, the words "Imminent", "Soon" and "Later" are used and are tightly defined. "Imminent" means within 6 hours, "Soon" means within 6 to 12 hours and "Later" means within 12 to 24 hours. The basic order of the forecast is: The forecast begins with "And now the Shipping Forecast, issued by the Met Office on behalf of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency at xxxx today." This format
2703-430: The wind direction and force, atmospheric pressure, visibility and the state of the sea. It is a nightly litany with a rhythm and indefinable poetry that have made it popular with millions of people who never have cause to put to sea and have little idea what it actually means; a reminder that whilst you're tucked-up safely under the bedclothes, far out over the waves it's a wilder and more dangerous picture, one that captures
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#17328770593822756-609: Was about 425,000 years ago, when an ice-dammed lake in the southern North Sea overflowed and broke the Weald- Artois (Boulonnais) chalk range in a catastrophic erosion and flood event. Consequently the ice-age-muted flows from the Thames and Scheldt flowed through the gap into the English Channel/Inlet, but the Meuse and Rhine still flowed without any significant link to the inlet (such as today's IJssel distributary supports). In
2809-637: Was recorded. The shipping forecast was: Extended shipping forecasts (00:48 and 05:20) also include weather reports from coastal weather stations followed by a forecast for the inshore waters of the United Kingdom . This additional information does not fall within the 350/380-word restriction. The reports for coast weather stations use the following format: name of the station, wind direction/speed, precipitation (if any), visibility in miles, barometric pressure, and trend in pressure. For example, "Machrihanish Automatic. West by south 6, rain, 1 mile, 981, falling more slowly." The inshore waters forecast begins with
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