WEATHER BULLETIN FOR THE HIGH SEAS FOR METAREA VII.
ISSUED BY THE SOUTH AFRICAN WEATHER SERVICE ON THE
20TH OF APRIL 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. CAPE WEST: W to SW 35 in the south-east towards mid-period.
2. CAPE EAST: SW 35 to 40 in the western parts at first and towards the end
of the period, but W to NW 35 to 40 in the southern and
western half.
3. DURBAN EAST: S to SW 35 in the south-west at first.
4. MARION FORTIES EAST: W to NW 35.
SYNOPTIC CHART 06:00Z
=====================
High 1026 hPa 39s06w
Low 971 hPa 56s16e, Low 974 hPa 54s27e
1. Cold Front: 43s10e 45s13e 50s17e into 56s16e
2. Cold Front: 35s25e 40s30e 45s32e into 54s27e
AREA FORECAST:
==============
ASCENSION (06S/15S, 00E/20W):
WIND : E to SE 10 to 20.
VIS : Good.
ANGOLA (06S/15S, 00E/00N):
WIND : S to SE 10 to 20, but SW 05 to 10 in the east.
VIS : Good.
ST HELENA (15S/30S, 00E/20W):
WIND : E to SE 10 to 20, but N to NE 10 to 20 in the south-west.
VIS : Good, but moderate in showers and rain in the south-western
parts.
SEA STATE: 3.0m in the south-east, drifting to the north-east towards the
end of the period, with SE swell.
TRADES (15S/30S, 00E/WEST COAST):
WIND : S to SE 10 to 20, reaching 25 to 30 in the east towards mid-
period.
VIS : Good.
SEA STATE: 3.0 to 4.0m in the southern half, spreading to the north towards
the end of the period, with S to SW swell.
TRISTAN (30S/40S, 00E/20W):
WIND : Anticyclonic 05 to 15 in the east, otherwise N to NW 10 to 20
reaching 25 in the south.
VIS : Good, but moderate to poor in showers and thundershowers in the
west.
SEA STATE: 3.0m in the extreme east, with S to SE swell, but in the south at
first with NW swell.
CAPE WEST (30S/40S, 00E/20E):
WIND : Variable 05 to 10 in the extreme north-east, otherwise W to SW 15
to 25 reaching 30 to 35 in the south-east towards mid-period. It
will become anticyclonic 05 to 15 in the extreme west by the end
of the period.
VIS : Good, but moderate to poor in showers and rain in the eastern
parts, but in the central parts until mid-period.
SEA STATE: 3.0 to 4.0m reaching 6.0 to 8.0m in the south-eastern parts, with
S to SW swell.
CAPE EAST (32.5S/40S, 20E/50E):
WIND : SW 30 to 40 in the western parts at first and towards the end of
the period, otherwise W to NW 15 to 25 reaching 30 to 40 in the
southern parts and western half.
VIS : Moderate to poor in showers and thundershowers.
SEA STATE: 3.0 to 4.0m reaching 5.0 to 7.0m in the western and central
parts, with W to SW swell.
DURBAN EAST (32.5S/25S, EAST COAST/55E):
WIND : S to SW 15 to 25 in the west until mid-period, reaching 30 to 35
in the south-west at first, otherwise N to NE 10 to 20 reaching
25 in the north.
VIS : Good, but moderate to poor in showers and thundershowers in the
west, but in the south until mid-period.
SEA STATE: 3.0 to 4.0m in the west, reaching 4.5 to 5.0m in the south-west,
drifting to the south towards the end of the period, with SW
swell.
MOZAMBIQUE CHANNEL:
WIND : E to NE 05 to 15, but variable 05 to 10 in the central and south-
eastern parts.
VIS : Good, becoming moderate in showers and thundershowers in the
northern and south-western parts from mid-period.
MADAGASCAR EAST (10S/25S, EAST COAST/55E):
WIND : E to NE 05 to 15 in the south, otherwise E to SE 10 to 20
reaching 25 in the extreme north-west.
VIS : Good, but moderate in showers and thundershowers in places in the
north, spreading to the south towards the end of the period.
MARION FORTIES EAST (40S/50S, 35E/50E):
WIND : W to NW 25 to 35.
VIS : Moderate to poor in showers and thundershowers but with rain over
the southern parts.
SEA STATE: 4.0 to 5.0m, reaching 6.0m in the extreme west by the end of the
period, with W to NW swell.
AREA 2:
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MARINE METEOROLOGICAL BULLETIN FROM METEO-FRANCE/LA REUNION ON AREA ACK (AMSTERDAM-CROZET-KERGUELEN)
2026/04/20 AT 0600UTC
AVERAGED WIND SPEED ON BEAUFORT SCALE. (WIND GUSTS MAY BE ABOUT 40% STRONGER THAN THE AVERAGES GIVEN HERE).
PART 1: WARNING
- SEVERE GALE TO STORM EXPECTED OVER SOUTHEASTERN KER SOON.
- GALE EXPECTED OVER SOUTHWESTERN CRO AT END.
PART 2: GENERAL SYNOPSIS, 2026/04/20 AT 0000UTC
- COLD FRONT OVER SOUTHWESTERN KER AT FIRST MOVING NORTHEASTWARD QUICKLY.
- HIGH AREA OVER AMS AND WAM WITH HIGH 1030 NEAR 37S/82E, MOVING SLOWLY
EAST-NORTH-EASTWARD.
- COLD FRONT EXPECTED OVER WESTERN CRO AND SOUTHWESTERN WAM AT END.
PART 3: FORECAST FOR 24 HOURS FROM 2026/04/20 AT 0600UTC TO 2026/04/21 AT 0600UTC
WAM (30S/40S, 50E/65E)
SHOWERS AND SQUALLS OVER NORTHEASTERN AREA, FRONTAL RAIN AND SHOWERS OVER SOUTHWESTERN AREA AT END.
WIND: VARIABLE 2 TO 4 BECOMING NORTHERLY 4 TO 5 OVER WESTERN AREA SOON,
LOCALLY 6 OVER FAR SOUTH-WESTERN AREA AT END.
SEA : MODERATE.
VIS : POOR IN PRECIPITATION.
AMS (30S/40S, 65E/80E)
FEW SHOWERS.
WIND: ANTICLOCKWISE 2 TO 4 BUT NORTH-WESTERLY 4/5 OVER SOUTH-EASTERN AREA,
BACKING SW AT END.
SEA : MODERATE.
VIS : POOR IN PRECIPITATION.
CRO (40S/50S, 50E/65E)
FRONTAL RAIN AND SHOWERS OVER WESTERN AREA AT END.
WIND: ANTICLOCKWISE 2 TO 4 LOCALLY 5/6 OVER FAR SOUTH-EASTERN AREA AT FIRST,
BECOMING SOON N 5/6 LOCALLY 7 OVER WESTERN AREA, AND INCREASING NW 6/7
LOCALLY 8 OVER SOUTH-WESTERN AREA AT END.
SEA : MODERATE TO ROUGH FROM NORTH TO SOUTH, LOCALLY VERY ROUGH OVER FAR
SOUTH-WESTERN AREA AT END. W SWELL 2 TO 3 M OVER SOUTH-EASTERN AREA AT
FIRST ABATING, BUT NW SWELL 2 TO 3 METERS OVER WESTERN AREA AT END.
VIS : POOR IN PRECIPITATION.
KER (40S/50S, 65E/80E)
FRONTAL RAIN AND SHOWERS MOVING NORTH-EASTWARD.
WIND: WESTERLY 4 TO 7 LOCALLY 8 FROM NORTH-WEST TO SOUTH-EAST, INCREASING
SOON SOUTH-WESTERLY 7 TO 9 LOCALLY 10 WITH SEVERE GUSTS OVER SOUTH-
EASTERN AREA, AND VEERING NORTH-WESTERLY 4 TO 6 OVER SOUTH-WESTERN
AREA AT END.
SEA : MODERATE TO VERY ROUGH FROM NORTH-WEST TO SOUTH-EAST, BECOMING HIGH
OVER SOUTH-EASTERN AREA SOON, LOCALLY VERY HIGH OVER FAR SOUTH-EASTERN
AREA LATER. SW SWELL 2 TO 3 M AT FISRT, INCREASING SOON 4 TO 6 M OVER
SOUTH-EASTERN AREA.
VIS : POOR IN PRECIPITATION.