WEATHER BULLETIN FOR THE HIGH SEAS FOR METAREA VII.
ISSUED BY THE SOUTH AFRICAN WEATHER SERVICE ON THE
17TH OF MAY 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. TRISTAN : N to NW 35 in the south at first.
2. CAPE WEST: S to SE 35 in the east from the evening.
3. MARION FORTIES EAST: W to SW 35 to 40 in the southern parts at
times.
SYNOPTIC CHART 12:00Z
=====================
High 1028 hPa 40s03e, High 1028 hPa 38s41e.
Low 1013 hPa 35s17w, Low 978 hPa 58s34e.
1. Cold Front: 39s22e 44s28e 48s34e 52s37e into 58s34e.
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 : Variable 05 to 10 in the east, otherwise S to SE 10 to 20.
VIS : Good.
ST HELENA (15S/30S, 00E/20W):
WIND : N to NW 05 to 15 in the south and south-west, otherwise E to
SE 05 to 15.
VIS : Good, but moderate in rain and showers in the south-west.
SEA STATE: 3.0m in the east at first, with SE swell.
TRADES (15S/30S, 00E/WEST COAST):
WIND : S to SE 10 to 20, reaching 25 in the south and south-east at
times.
VIS : Good.
SEA STATE: 3.0m in the west, central and southern parts, with S to SE
swell.
TRISTAN (30S/40S, 00E/20W) :
WIND : N to NW 15 to 25, reaching 30 to 35 in the south at first. It
will become variable 05 to 10 in the north-west from the
morning.
VIS : Good, but moderate to poor in showers and thundershowers in
the central and southern parts.
SEA STATE: 3.0 to 3.5m in places in the central and southern parts,
subsiding in the central from mid-period, with NW swell.
CAPE WEST (30S/40S, 00E/20E):
WIND : N to NE 10 to 20 in the south-west, otherwise S to SE 15 to
25, but 30 in places in the east and south-east, reaching 35
in the east from the evening.
VIS : Good, but moderate in showers and rain in places in the east
and south-east.
SEA STATE: 3.0 to 4.0m in places in the north, eastern parts, with S to
SE swell.
CAPE EAST (32.5S/40S, 20E/50E):
WIND : Anti-cyclonic 05 to 15, but S to SE 05 to 15 in the west,
reaching 20 to 25 in the south-west, spreading to the west
towards the end of the period.
VIS : Good, but moderate in light showers and rain in places in the
west, central and southern parts.
SEA STATE: 3.0 to 4.0m in the east and western parts, with SW swell.
DURBAN EAST (32.5S/25S, EAST COAST/55E):
WIND : N to NE 05 to 15 in the west, reaching 20 to 25 in the south-
west at first, otherwise E to SE 15 to 25.
VIS : Good, but moderate in showers and rain in the central and
northern parts, but moderate to poor in showers and
thundershowers in the east.
SEA STATE: 3.0 to 4.0m in the east and central parts, with S to SE swell.
MOZAMBIQUE CHANNEL:
WIND : S to SE 10 to 20, reaching 25 to 30 in the south-east at
times.
VIS : Good, but moderate in showers and thundershowers in places in
the south and western parts, clearing from late afternoon.
SEA STATE: 3.0 to 3.5m in the south and central parts, with S to SE
swell.
MADAGASCAR EAST (10S/25S, EAST COAST/55E):
WIND : S to SE 05 to 15.
VIS : Moderate in showers and rain in places, but moderate to poor
in showers and thundershowers in the south.
SEA STATE: 3.0m in the south-east at first, with SE swell.
MARION FORTIES EAST (40S/50S, 35E/50E):
WIND : N to NW 20 to 30 in the north and eastern parts, otherwise W
to SW 15 to 25, reaching 30 to 40 in the southern parts.
VIS : Good, but moderate in band of showers and rain in the central
and eastern parts, clearing in the central from mid-period.
SEA STATE: 3.0 to 4.0m in the central, but 5.0 to 6.0m in the southern
parts, reaching 6.5m in the south at times, 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)
26/05/17 AT 1600UTC
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, 26/05/17 AT 1200UTC
- COLD FRONT CF MOVING TOWARDS 28S/50E, 30S/54E, 34S/65E AND 37S/76E
- AN ANTICYCLONIC BELT MOVING INTO AMS AND WAM
- COLD FRONT CG MOVING TOWARDS CRO OVERNIGHT.
PART 3: FORECAST FOR 24 HOURS FROM 26/05/17 AT 1800UTC TO 26/05/18
AT 1800UTC
WAM (30S/40S, 50E/65E)
RAIN OR SHOWERS MORE FREQUENT OVER FAR NORTHERN WITH COLD FRONT CF
AND OVER FAR SOUTHERN.
WIND : SOUTHERLY 4/5 BECOMING ANTICYCLONIC 2/3 FROM THE WEST, COOLING
IN THE EAST 4/5 IN THE FAR NORTH AND WESTERLY 4/5 IN THE FAR SOUTH.
SEA : ROUGH TO VERY ROUGH BECOMING MODERATE TO ROUGH. SOUTH-WESTERLY
SWELL 3 TO 4 M, EASING TO 2 TO 3 M DURING THE DAY.
VISIBILITY : POOR DURING RAINFALL.
AMS (30S/40S, 65E/80E)
RAIN, FRONTAL SHOWERS OR SQUALLS WITH THE COLD FRONT CF.
WIND : NORTHERLY 3/4 AHEAD OF THE COLD FRONT, VEERING SOUTH-WESTERLY
4 TO 6 BEHIND IT, THEN ANTICLOCKWISE 3/4 FROM THE WEST TOWARDS THE
END OF THE FORECAST PERIOD.
SEA : ROUGH TO VERY ROUGH, BECOMING CHOPPY TO ROUGH. SOUTH-WESTERLY
SWELL 34 M, SUBSIDING.
VISIBILITY : POOR TO VERY POOR DURING RAINFALL.
CRO (40S/50S, 50E/65E)
MODERATE SHOWERS, LOCALLY HEAVY OVER EASTERN, FOLLOWED BY RAIN AND
SHOWERS WITH A COLD FRONT DURING THE DAY.
WIND : W 4 TO 6, FRESHENING TO NW 6/7 AHEAD OF THE COLD FRONT,
VEERING SW 5 TO 7 BEHIND IT TOWARDS THE END OF THE PERIOD. GUSTS AS
THE FRONT PASSES.
SEA : ROUGH TO VERY ROUGH, BECOMING MODERATE TO ROUGH. SOUTH-WESTERLY
SWELL 2 TO 4 M, ABATING.
VISIBILITY : POOR TO VERY POOR DURING RAINFALL.
KER (40S/50S, 65E/80E)
RAIN, SHOWERS OR SQUALLS WITH CG.
WIND : WESTERLY 5 TO 7, FRESHENING TO NW 6/7 AHEAD OF CG TOWARDS THE
END OF THE FORECAST PERIOD. STRONG GUSTS.
SEA : ROUGH TO VERY ROUGH, BECOMING MODERATE TO ROUGH. SW SWELL 3 TO
5 M, ABATING
VISIBILITY: POOR TO VERY POOR DURING RAINFALL.