WEATHER BULLETIN FOR THE HIGH SEAS FOR METAREA VII.
ISSUED BY THE SOUTH AFRICAN WEATHER SERVICE ON THE
01ST OF MAY 2026 AT 13:30 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 012200 TO 022200 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. TRISTAN: SW 35 in the south and south-east towards the end of the period.
2. CAPE WEST: W to NW 35 to 40 in the east and south-east until mid-period.
3. CAPE EAST: W to NW 35 to 40 in the west and north-east, drifting to the
south towards the end of the period.
SYNOPTIC CHART 12:00Z
=====================
High 1022 hPa 25s03w, High 1023 hPa 33s61e
Low 993 hPa 49s07w, Low 1002 hPa 41s31e, Low 1002 hPa 36s38e
1. Cold Front: 31s02e 35s10e 40s20e into 49s07w
2. Cold Front: 28s34e 32s37e into 36s38e
AREA FORECAST:
==============
ASCENSION (06S/15S, 00E/20W):
WIND : E to SE 10 to 20.
VIS : Good, but moderate in showers and thundershowers in the extreme
northern parts.
SEA STATE: 3.0m in places until mid-period, with SE swell.
ANGOLA (06S/15S, 00E/00N):
WIND : S to SE 10 to 20, but SW 05 to 15 in the east.
VIS : Good.
ST HELENA (15S/30S, 00E/20W):
WIND : Anticyclonic 05 to 15 in the central parts, otherwise E to SE 10
to 20, but NW 10 to 20 in the south, drifting to the south-east
towards mid-period.
VIS : Good, but moderate in showers and rain in the south-west,
drifting to the south-east towards mid-period.
SEA STATE: 3.0m in the west, drifting to the south-east towards mid-period,
with S to SW swell.
TRADES (15S/30S, 00E/WEST COAST):
WIND : S to SE 10 to 20 reaching 25 in the north-east until towards mid-
period, but W to NW 10 to 20 in the south-west.
VIS : Good.
TRISTAN (30S/40S, 00E/20W):
WIND : W to NW 15 to 25, but SW 15 to 25 in the west, spreading to the
east towards the end of the period, while reaching 30 to 35 in
south and south-east.
VIS : Moderate to poor in showers and rain, becoming good in the west
towards mid-period.
SEA STATE: 3.0 to 4.0m reaching 4.5 to 5.5m in the south, with W to SW
swell.
CAPE WEST (30S/40S, 00E/20E):
WIND : Variable 05 to 10 in the extreme north-east, otherwise W to NW 15
to 25 reaching 30 to 40 in the east and south-east until mid-
period. It will become SW 15 to 25 in the west towards the end of
the period.
VIS : Moderate to poor in showers and rain, but good in the north-east.
SEA STATE: 3.0 to 4.0m reaching 4.5 to 5.0m in the south-east, with W to SW
swell.
CAPE EAST (32.5S/40S, 20E/50E):
WIND : SW 10 to 20 in the north, otherwise W to NW 15 to 25 reaching 30
to 40 in the west and north-east, drifting to the south towards
the end of the period.
VIS : Moderate to poor in showers and thundershowers in places, but
good in the north.
SEA STATE: 3.0 to 4.0m, reaching 4.5 to 5.5m in the south-west but in the
south-east until mid-period, with SW swell.
DURBAN EAST (32.5S/25S, EAST COAST/55E):
WIND : E to NE 10 to 20 in the east until mid-period, otherwise N to NW
10 to 20 reaching 25 to 30 in the south, drifting to the south-
east towards mid-period, but anticyclonic 05 to 15 in the west.
It will become SW 10 to 20 in the south-west towards the end of
the period.
VIS : Good, but moderate to poor in showers and thundershowers in the
south, drifting to the south-east towards mid-period.
SEA STATE: 3.0 to 3.5m reaching 4.0m in the south until towards the end of
the period, with S to SW swell.
MOZAMBIQUE CHANNEL:
WIND : S to SE 10 to 20, but variable 05 to 10 in the central and
southern parts until mid-period.
VIS : Good, but moderate in showers and thundershowers in places in the
northern parts until mid-period.
MADAGASCAR EAST (10S/25S, EAST COAST/55E):
WIND : SE 10 to 20, but NE 05 to 15 in the south.
VIS : Good, but moderate in showers and rain in places over northern
parts.
SEA STATE: 3.0m in the east at first, with S to SW swell.
MARION FORTIES EAST (40S/50S, 35E/50E):
WIND : SW 15 to 25 in the south-east at first, otherwise NE to E 15 to
25 but cyclonic 20 to 30 in the north, drifting to the north-east
towards the end of the period.
VIS : Good, but moderate in showers and rain in the north, drifting to
the north-east towards the end of the period.
SEA STATE: 3.0 to 4.0m reaching 5.0 to 6.0m in the south-east until mid-
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)
2026/05/01 AT 0600UTC
AVERAGED WIND SPEED ON BEAUFORT SCALE. (WIND GUSTS MAY BE ABOUT 40% STRONGER THAN THE AVERAGES GIVEN HERE).
PART 1: WARNING
- GALE OVER CRO AND KER.
PART 2: GENERAL SYNOPSIS, 2026/05/01 AT 0000UTC
- COLD FRONT CF OVER AMS AND KER ORIENTED ALONG 25S/65E ; 40S/75E ; 50S/77E.
- LOW 959 NEAR 57S/49E, MOVING EASTWARD WITH COLD FRONT CG REACHING AS FAR
AS SOUTHWESTERN KER.
- HIGH 1021 OVER FAR NORTH-WESTERN WAM NEAR 31S/52E MOVING SLOWLY EASTWARD.
PART 3: FORECAST FOR 24 HOURS FROM 2026/05/01 AT 0600UTC TO 2026/05/02 AT 0600UTC
WAM (30S/40S, 50E/65E)
RAIN AND SHOWERS OVER SOUTH-WESTERN AREA AT END.
WIND: ANTICLOCKWISE 3 TO 5, LOCALLY NW 6 OVER SOUTHERN AREA.
SEA : ROUGH TO VERY ROUGH. LONG SW SWELL 3 TO 5 M DECREASING.
VIS : POOR TO VERY POOR IN PRECIPITATION.
AMS (30S/40S, 65E/80E)
RAIN AND FRONTAL SHOWERS DUE TO CF MOVING EASTWARD.
WIND: NORTHERLY 3 TO 5 AHEAD OF THE FRONT CF BACKING SOUTHERLY 4 TO 5
LOCALLY 6 BEHIND, THEN ANTICLOCKWISE 3 TO 5 BY WESTERN AREA LATER.
SEA : MODERATE TO ROUGH FROM NORTH-EAST TO SOUTH-WEST, BECOMING ROUGH
EVERYWHERE AT END.
VIS : POOR TO VERY POOR IN PRECIPITATION.
CRO (40S/50S, 50E/65E)
RAIN AND SHOWERS OVER NORTHERN AREA.
WIND: WESTERLY 5 TO 7 AT TIME 8 OVER SOUTHERN AREA. SEVERE GUSTS. DECREASING
ANTICLOCKWISE 3 TO 5 LATER BY WESTERN AREA BUT REMAINING WESTERLY 5/6
OVER FAR NORTHERN AND FAR SOUTHERN AREAS.
SEA : VERY ROUGH TO HIGH OVER NORTHERN AREA AND HIGH TO VERY HIGH OVER
SOUTHERN AREA. LONG SW SWELL 4 TO 6 M BY WESTERN AREA.
VIS : POOR TO VERY POOR IN PRECIPITATION.
KER (40S/50S, 65E/80E)
RAIN AND FRONTAL SHOWERS OVER NORTH-EASTERN AREA DUE TO CF AT FIRST AND OVER SOUTH-WESTERN AREA DUE TO CG.
WIND: WESTERLY 5 TO 7 LOCALLY 8. SEVERE GUSTS. DECREASING SOUTHERLY 3 TO 5
BEHIND THE FRONT CG AT END.
SEA : VERY ROUGH, OCCASIONALLY HIGH OVER WESTERN AREA. N SWELL 3 TO 4 M THEN
W TO SW SWELL 4 TO 6 M LATER.
VIS : POOR TO VERY POOR IN PRECIPITATION.