WEATHER BULLETIN FOR THE HIGH SEAS FOR METAREA VII.
ISSUED BY THE SOUTH AFRICAN WEATHER SERVICE ON THE
08TH OF MARCH 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 081000 TO 091000 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. DURBAN EAST: SE 35 to 40 in the north-west.
2. MARION FORTIES EAST: W to SW 35 to 45 in the south-east until towards
mid-period, becoming W to NW 35 in the south-west
from mid-period, drifting to the east towards the
end of the Period.
SYNOPTIC CHART 06:00Z
=====================
High 1029 hPa 36s24e
Low 962 hPa 60s07w, Low 946 hPa 56s47e
1. Cold front: 37s24w 40s17w 45s01w 50s08e into 60s07w
2. Cold front: 29s38e 35s46e 40s52e 45s58e 50s60e into 56s47e
AREA FORECAST:
==============
ASCENSION (06S/15S, 00E/20W):
WIND : SE to E 10 to 20.
VIS : Good.
ANGOLA (06S/15S, 00E/00N):
WIND : S to SE 05 to 15, but SW 05 to 15 in the east.
VIS : Good.
ST HELENA (15S/30S, 00E/20W):
WIND : NE 05 to 15 in the south, otherwise SE to E 05 to 15, becoming NW
10 to 20 in the south-west from mid-period.
VIS : Good, but moderate in light rain in places.
TRADES (15S/30S, 00E/WEST COAST):
WIND : Variable 05 to 10 in the east, otherwise S to SE 10 to 20
reaching 25 to 30 in the south-east until mid-period.
VIS : Good, but moderate in light rain over the western parts until
mid-period.
SEA STATE: 3.0 to 4.0m in the southern half, with S to SE swell.
TRISTAN (30S/40S, 00E/20W):
WIND : E to NE 05 to 15 in the north-east, otherwise N to NW 15 to 25
reaching 30 in the south-west towards mid-period.
VIS : Good, but moderate to poor in showers and thundershowers in the
west and south-west, spreading to the south towards the end of
the period.
SEA STATE: 3.0m in the south-west towards mid-period, with NW swell.
CAPE WEST (30S/40S, 00E/20E):
WIND : NW 10 to 20 in the south-west, otherwise SE to E 10 to 20
reaching 25 to 30 in the east and north-east, but anticyclonic 05
to 15 in the south-east.
VIS : Good.
SEA STATE: 3.0 to 3.5m in the east, reaching 4.0m in the north-east at
first, with S to SE swell.
CAPE EAST (32.5S/40S, 20E/50E):
WIND : SW 10 to 20 in the south-east but S to SE 20 to 30 in the north-
east, otherwise anticyclonic 05 to 15, but E to NE 10 to 20 in
the north-west, reaching 25 to 30 in the extreme west towards
mid-period.
VIS : Good, but moderate to poor in showers and thundershowers in the
north-east.
SEA STATE: 3.0 to 4.0m, reaching 5.0 to 5.5m in the central parts, drifting
to the north-east towards the end of the period, with SW swell.
DURBAN EAST (32.5S/25S, EAST COAST/55E):
WIND : N to NE 10 to 20 but SE 15 to 25 in the south and west, reaching
30 to 40 in the north-west.
VIS : Moderate to poor in showers and thundershowers, but good in the
south-western part.
SEA STATE: 3.5 to 4.5m in the west, reaching 5.0m in the north-west at
first, with S to SW swell.
MOZAMBIQUE CHANNEL:
WIND : Variable 05 to 10 in the north, otherwise S to SE 10 to 20
reaching 25 to 30 in the south towards mid-period.
VIS : Moderate in showers and thundershowers in places.
SEA STATE: 3.0 to 4.0m in the south-west towards mid-period, spreading to
the southern parts towards the end of the period, with S to SW
swell.
MADAGASCAR EAST (10S/25S, EAST COAST/55E):
WIND : E to NE 10 to 20.
VIS : Moderate in showers and thundershowers in places.
MARION FORTIES EAST (40S/50S, 35E/50E):
WIND : W to SW 20 to 30 reaching 35 to 45 in the south-east until
towards mid-period. It will become W to NW 25 to 35 in the south-
west from mid-period, drifting to the east towards the end of the
period, while becoming SW 20 to 30 from the west.
VIS : Moderate in showers and rain at times.
SEA STATE: 7.0 to 8.0m but 4.0 to 6.0m in the west, 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)
2026/03/08 AT 0500UTC
AVERAGED WIND SPEED ON BEAUFORT SCALE. (WIND GUSTS MAY BE ABOUT 40% STRONGER THAN THE AVERAGES GIVEN HERE).
PART 1: WARNING
- STORM EXPECTED OVER CRO.
PART 2: GENERAL SYNOPSIS, 2026/03/08 AT 0000UTC
- DEEPENING LOW 961 NEAR 52S/43E, RAPIDLY MOVING SOUTHEASTERN. COLD FRONT
21S/32E, 30S/40E, 35S/44E, 40S/49E, 47S/52E.
- HIGH 1027 OVER WAM AND AMS.
PART 3: FORECAST FOR 24 HOURS FROM 2026/03/08 AT 0600UTC TO 2026/03/09 AT 0600UTC
WAM (30S/40S, 50E/65E)
RAIN (CF) OVER SOUTHWESTERN AT FIRST.
WIND: SOUTHERLY 4/5 OVER SOUTHWESTERN AND VARIABLE 2/3 ELSEWHERE.
SEA : SLIGHT TO MODERATE BUT ROUGH TO VERY ROUGH OVER SOUTHWESTERN BY SW
SWELL 3 TO 5 M.
VIS : POOR TO VERY POOR IN PRECIPITATION.
AMS (30S/40S, 65E/80E)
SCATTERED SHOWERS.
WIND: VARIABLE 3/4 LOCALLY NORTHERLY 4/5.
SEA : MODERATE.
VIS : GOOD LOCALLY MODERATE IN SHOWERS.
CRO (40S/50S, 50E/65E)
RAIN (CF).
WIND: NW 9/10 WITH SEVERE GUSTS OVER SOUTHERN AND WESTERLY 4/6 OVER
NORTHERN.
SEA : MODERATE TO ROUGH OVER NORTHEASTERN, VERY ROUGH TO HIGH OVER
SOUTHWESTERN.
W SWELL 3 TO 5 M AT END.
VIS : POOR IN PRECIPITATION.
KER (40S/50S, 65E/80E)
RAIN (CF) OVER WESTERN LATER.
WIND: WESTERN 4/6 LOCALLY 7 OVER SOUTHERN.
SEA : MODERATE BECOMING ROUGH TO VERY ROUGH. W SWELL 2 TO 4 M OVER
SOUTHWESTERN AT END.
VIS : POOR IN PRECIPITATION.