WEATHER BULLETIN FOR THE HIGH SEAS FOR METAREA VII.
ISSUED BY THE SOUTH AFRICAN WEATHER SERVICE ON THE
17TH OF JANUARY 2026 AT 17:00 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 172200 TO 182200 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. TRADES: S to SE 35 in the south-east.
2. CAPE EAST: W to SW 35 in the extreme north-west at first, but NW 35
in the south-east towards the end of the period.
3. DURBAN EAST: SW 35 in the extreme west.
4. MARION FORTIES EAST: NW to N 35 in the north-east from mid-period, but
SW to SW 35 in the west from mid-period.
SYNOPTIC CHART 12:00Z
=====================
High 1028 hPa 35s10w, High 1020 hPa 46s48e
Low 992 hPa 55s28e.
1. Cold Front: 40s22e 47s30e 56s32e into 55s28e.
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, but moderate in thundershowers in the north-east until
mid-period.
ST HELENA (15S/30S, 00E/20W):
WIND : E to SE 10 to 20 but NE 10 to 20 in the extreme south-west.
VIS : Good, but moderate in showers and rain in places in the west.
TRADES (15S/30S, 00E/WEST COAST):
WIND : S to SE 15 to 25, reaching 30 in places in the east but 35 in
the south-east.
VIS : Good.
SEA STATE: 3.0 to 3.5m in the east, with SE swell.
TRISTAN (30S/40S, 00E/20W):
WIND : Anticyclonic 05 to 15.
VIS : Good.
CAPE WEST (30S/40S, 00E/20E):
WIND : W to SW 10 to 20 in the south, otherwise S to SE 10 to 20
reaching 25 in places in the north-east.
VIS : Good, but moderate in rain and showers in the extreme south-
east at first.
SEA STATE: 3.0 to 4.0m in the south, reaching 4.5 to 5.0m in the south-
east until mid-period, with S to SW swell.
CAPE EAST (32.5S/40S, 20E/50E):
WIND : NW 10 to 20 in the central parts, drifting to the south-east
towards the end of the period, while reaching 30 to 35,
otherwise W to SW 15 to 25 reaching 35 in the extreme north-
west at first, but N to NE 15 to 25 in the north-east.
VIS : Moderate to poor in showers and thundershowers, but good in
the west from mid-period.
SEA STATE: 3.0 to 4.0m except in the east, reaching 4.5 to 5.0m in the
south-west, with S to SW swell but E to NE swell in the east.
DURBAN EAST (32.5S/25S, EAST COAST/55E):
WIND : SW 25 to 35 in the extreme west, otherwise N to NE 05 to 15
reaching 20 to 30 in places in the east.
VIS : Good, but moderate to poor in showers and thundershowers in
places.
SEA STATE: 3.0 to 4.0m in the extreme west by the end of the period, with
SW swell in the extreme west, otherwise E to NE swell.
MOZAMBIQUE CHANNEL:
WIND : NW 15 to 25 in the north, otherwise NE to E 05 to 15 reaching
20 in places.
VIS : Good, but moderate to poor in showers and thundershowers in
the south and north-west.
MADAGASCAR EAST (10S/25S, EAST COAST/55E):
WIND : S to SE 05 to 15 in the north, otherwise E to NE 10 to 20
reaching 25 in places in the south.
VIS : Good, but moderate in showers and thundershowers in places.
MARION FORTIES EAST (40S/50S, 35E/50E):
WIND : NW to N 20 to 30, reaching 35 in the north-east from mid-
period, becoming SW to SW 15 to 25 in the west from mid-
period, while reaching 30 to 35.
VIS : Good, but moderate to poor in showers and thundershowers in
the west and in the north-east, spreading to the south-east
from mid-period.
SEA STATE: 3.0 to 4.0m, reaching 4.5 to 5.5m in the west from mid-period,
with NW swell, but SW swell in the west from mid-period.
AREA 2:
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MARINE METEOROLOGICAL BULLETIN FROM METEO-FRANCE/LA REUNION ON AREA
ACK (AMSTERDAM-CROZET-KERGUELEN)
26/01/17 AT 1500UTC
AVERAGED WIND SPEED ON BEAUFORT SCALE. (WIND GUSTS MAY BE ABOUT 40%
STRONGER THAN THE AVERAGES GIVEN HERE).
PART 1: WARNING
- NIL.
PART 2: GENERAL SYNOPSIS, 26/01/17 AT 1200UTC
- COLD FRONT REACHING WESTERN CRO AT THE END.
- HIGH 1022 OVER SOUTHWEST CRO AND ANOTHER ONE OVER WAM AND AMS, WITH
SQUALL OR FRONTAL LINE BETWEEN THEM., MOVING EASTWARD.
PART 3: FORECAST FOR 24 HOURS FROM 26/01/17 AT 1800UTC TO 26/01/18
AT 1800UTC
WAM (30S/40S, 50E/65E)
RAIN OR SHOWERS IN FAR SOUTH.
WIND: ANTICLOCKWISE 2 TO 4, BUT CLOCKWISE 4 OR 5 IN SOUTH-EAST, AT
TIMES 6.
SEA: MODERATE OR ROUGH.
VISI: POOR IN PRECIPITATION.
AMS (30S/40S, 65E/80E)
SCATTERED SHOWERS, BECOMING MORE FREQUENT LATER IN SOUTH.
WIND: ANTICLOCKWISE 2 TO 4, BUT CLOCKWISE 5 TO 7 LATER OVER SOUTHERN.
SEA: MODERATE, BECOMING ROUGH OR VERY ROUGH IN S-SW SWELL 2 TO 4 M IN
FAR SOUTHEAST.
VISI: POOR IN PRECIPITATION.
CRO (40S/50S, 50E/65E)
FRONTAL RAIN OR SHOWERS IN NORTH AT FIRST THEN OVER WESTERN AT THE
END.
WIND: ANTICLOCKWISE 3 TO 5, BUT CLOCKWISE 5 OR 6 IN NORTH, INCREASING
AT TIMES 7 IN FAR NORTHEAST AT FIRST. GUSTS. SETTING UP N 5 TO 6
LOCALLY 7 WITH GUSTSD BY WESTERN AT THE END.
SEA: MODERATE OR ROUGH.
VISI: POOR OR VERY POOR IN PRECIPITATION.
KER (40S/50S, 65E/80E)
RAIN OR SHOWERS OVER NORTHERN.
WIND:
- IN FAR NORTHWEST: VARIABLE 2 TO 4, INCREASING CLOCKWISE 5 OR 6
LATER, AT TIMES 7 WITH GUSTS.
- ELSEWHERE: SOUTHWESTERLY 5 OR 6. GUSTS.
SEA: ROUGH OR VERY ROUGH IN SW SWELL.
VISI: POOR OR VERY POOR IN PRECIPITATION.