WEATHER BULLETIN FOR THE HIGH SEAS FOR METAREA VII.
ISSUED BY THE SOUTH AFRICAN WEATHER SERVICE ON THE
20TH OF MAY 2026 AT 08:30 UTC.
FOR SOUTH-EAST SECTOR OF METAREA. VII, PREPARED BY REUNION, SEE AREA 2
BELOW.
NOTE: WX OBSERVATIONS.
======================
COULD ALL VESSELS EXPERIENCING UNEXPECTED, SEVERE WX/SEA STATE PLEASE
MAKE EVERY EFFORT TO REPORT THIS TO SAWS VIA CAPE TOWN RADIO.
AREA 1:
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FORECAST VALID FROM 201000 TO 211000 UTC:
WIND IN KNOTS, WAVE HEIGHTS IN METERS. NO SEA STATE GIVEN IF WAVES LESS THAN 3M.
NOTE THE WIND SPEEDS QUOTED HERE ARE THE EXPECTED AVERAGE SPEEDS.
INDIVIDUAL GUSTS MAY EXCEED THESE VALUES BY A FACTOR OF UP TO 1.5.
WAVE HEIGHTS ARE SIGNIFICANT WAVE HEIGHTS, WHICH MAY BE ACCOMPANIED BY INDIVIDUAL WAVES 1.5 TO 2.0 TIMES HIGHER.
GALE FORCE WARNINGS:
====================
1. MARION FORTIES EAST: W to SW 35 to 40 in the southern half towards mid-
period.
SYNOPTIC CHART 06:00Z
=====================
High 1035 hPa 41s26e
Low 1003 hPa 49s02e
1. Cold Front: 36s06w 40s01w 45s03e into 49s02e
AREA FORECAST:
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ASCENSION (06S/15S, 00E/20W):
WIND : E to SE 10 to 20.
VIS : Good.
ANGOLA (06S/15S, 00E/00N):
WIND : SW 05 to 10 in the east, otherwise S to SE 10 to 20.
VIS : Good.
ST HELENA (15S/30S, 00E/20W):
WIND : NE 05 to 15 in the south, otherwise E to SE 10 to 20 but N to NW
15 to 25 in the south-west.
VIS : Good, but moderate in rain and showers in the extreme south-
west.
SEA STATE: 3.0 to 3.5m in the extreme south-west, with SW swell.
TRADES (15S/30S, 00E/WEST COAST):
WIND : Variable 05 to 10 in the south-east, otherwise S to SE 10 to 20.
VIS : Good.
SEA STATE: 3.0m in the south until mid-period, with S to SE swell.
TRISTAN (30S/40S, 00E/20W) :
WIND : Variable 05 to 10 in the extreme north-east, otherwise N to NW 15
to 25 reaching 30 in the north-west until mid-period, but in the
south-west towards the end of the period.
VIS : Good, but moderate to poor in showers and thundershowers in the
southern and western halves.
SEA STATE: 3.0 to 4.0m in the southern and western halves, reaching 4.5 to
5.0m in the south-west towards the end of the period, with W to
SW swell.
CAPE WEST (30S/40S, 00E/20E):
WIND : NW 15 to 25 in the south-west, otherwise E to SE 15 to 25
reaching 30 in the south-east until towards mid-period, but
variable 05 to 10 in the north-west and extreme north-east.
VIS : Good, but moderate in showers and thundershowers in the south-
east and south-west.
SEA STATE: 3.0 to 3.5m in the east, with E to SE swell.
CAPE EAST (32.5S/40S, 20E/50E):
WIND : S to SW 15 to 25 in the east, otherwise E to NE 10 to 20 reaching
25 to 30 in west and north-west, but anticyclonic 05 to 15 in the
south. It will become W to NW 05 to 15 in the extreme west
towards the end of the period.
VIS : Good, but moderate to poor in showers and thundershowers in
places in the north and west.
SEA STATE: 3.0 to 4.0m in places, reaching 5.0 to 6.0m in the east, with SW
swell, but with E to SE swell in the west.
DURBAN EAST (32.5S/25S, EAST COAST/55E):
WIND : S to SE 10 to 20, becoming E to NE 10 to 20 in the south-west
towards mid-period.
VIS : Good, but moderate in showers and thundershowers in places.
SEA STATE: 3.0m in the south, with S to SE swell.
MOZAMBIQUE CHANNEL:
WIND : S to SE 10 to 20, reaching 25 to 30 in the south-east.
VIS : Moderate in showers and rain in places.
SEA STATE: 3.0m in the south-east, with SE swell.
MADAGASCAR EAST (10S/25S, EAST COAST/55E):
WIND : S to SE 05 to 15, reaching 20 to 25 in the north.
VIS : Moderate in showers and rain in places.
SEA STATE: 3.0m in the north until mid-period, wit SE swell.
MARION FORTIES EAST (40S/50S, 35E/50E):
WIND : W to SW 15 to 25 reaching 30 to 40 in the southern half towards
mid-period.
VIS : Good, but moderate in showers and rain in the south-west,
drifting to the eastern half towards the end of the period.
SEA STATE: 3.0 to 4.0m reaching 5.0 to 6.0m in the eastern half at first,
but in the south-west towards mid-period, spreading to the east
towards the end of the period, with W to SW swell.
AREA 2:
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MARINE METEOROLOGICAL BULLETIN FROM METEO-FRANCE/LA REUNION ON AREA ACK (AMSTERDAM-CROZET-KERGUELEN)
2026/05/20 AT 0500UTC
AVERAGED WIND SPEED ON BEAUFORT SCALE. (WIND GUSTS MAY BE ABOUT 40% STRONGER THAN THE AVERAGES GIVEN HERE).
PART 1: WARNING
- GALE CONTINUING OVER CRO AND KER.
PART 2: GENERAL SYNOPSIS, 2026/05/20 AT 0000UTC
- DEEPENING LOW 973 NEAR 55S/58E, RATHER QUICKLY EASTWARD. COLD FRONT
33S/42E, 35S/50E, 40S/59E, 50S/67E, 55S/67E.
- ANTICLOCKWISE 1030 OVER WESTERN OF WAM WITH A RIDGE TOWARD CRO TONIGHT.
PART 3: FORECAST FOR 24 HOURS FROM 2026/05/20 AT 0600UTC TO 2026/05/21 AT 0600UTC
WAM (30S/40S, 50E/65E)
RAIN (CF), SHOWERS AND SQUALLS.
WIND: SW 4/6 LOCALLY 7 OVER SOUTHERN.
SEA : MODERATE TO ROUGH OVER NORTHERN, VERY ROUGH OVER SOUTHERN BY SW SWELL
4 TO 6 M.
VIS : POOR OR VERY POOR IN PRECIPITATION.
AMS (30S/40S, 65E/80E)
RAIN (CF), SHOWERS OR SQUALLS.
WIND: NW 4/6 LOCALLY 7 OVER SOUTHERN BACKING SW 4/6 LOCALLY 7 OVER SOUTHERN.
SEA : MODERATE TO ROUGH, BECOMING VERY ROUGH. SW SWELL 4 TO 6 M OVER FAR
SOUTHWESTERN AT END.
VIS : POOR OR VERY POOR IN PRECIPITATION.
CRO (40S/50S, 50E/65E)
SHOWERS AND SQUALLS AT END, RAIN OVER SOUTHWESTERN AT END.
WIND: WESTERLY 7/8 DECREASING 5/6 LATER THEN INCREASING NW 7/8 OVER WESTERN
AT END.
SEA : VERY ROUGH TO HIGH, BY SW SWELL INCREASING 4 TO 6 M.
VIS : POOR OR VERY POOR IN PRECIPITATION.
KER (40S/50S, 65E/80E)
RAIN (CF), SHOWERS AND SQUALLS.
WIND: WESTERLY 6/7 LOCALLY 8 OVER EASTERN AT FIRST.
SEA : VERY ROUGH BECOMING HIGH OVER WESTERN AT END. SW SWELL 3 TO 5 M
INCREASING 5 TO 6 M OVER WESTERN AT END.
VIS : POOR OR VERY POOR IN PRECIPITATION.