WEATHER BULLETIN FOR THE HIGH SEAS FOR METAREA VII.
ISSUED BY THE SOUTH AFRICAN WEATHER SERVICE ON THE
20TH OF APRIL 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 202200 TO 212200 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 north-east towards the end of the period.
2. CAPE WEST: W to SW 35 in the south-east.
3. CAPE EAST: W to NW 35 to 40 in the western half, spreading to the
southern parts towards mid-period, while becoming SW 35 from
the west, spreading to the central parts by the end of the
period.
4. DURBAN EAST: S to SW 35 in the south-west towards the end of the period.
5. MARION FORTIES EAST: W to NW 35 in the south and east at first, but in
the west towards mid-period, drifting to the north
and east towards the end of the period.
SYNOPTIC CHART 12:00Z
=====================
High 1027 hPa 36s06w
Low 969 hPa 54s19e, Low 970 hPa 55s27e
1. Cold Front: 37s06e 40s11e 45s19e 50s22e into 54s19e
2. Cold Front: 35s29e 40s33e 45s35e into 55s27e
AREA FORECAST:
==============
ASCENSION (06S/15S, 00E/20W):
WIND : E to SE 10 to 20.
VIS : Good.
ANGOLA (06S/15S, 00E/00N):
WIND : SW 05 to 10 in the east, otherwise S to SE 10 to 20 reaching 25
in the south towards the end of the period.
VIS : Good.
SEA STATE: 3.0m in the south towards the end of the period, with S to SW
swell.
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 to poor in showers and thundershowers in the
south-western parts.
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 to 30 in the east, but 35 in the
north-east towards the end of the period.
VIS : Good.
SEA STATE: 3.0 to 3.5m in the southern half, spreading to the north towards
mid-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 at times.
VIS : Good, but moderate to poor in showers and thundershowers in the
western half.
SEA STATE: 3.0m in the south-east, with S to SE 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 until towards the end
of the period. It will become S to SE 10 to 20 in the west
towards mid-period, spreading to the east towards the end of the
period.
VIS : Good, but moderate to poor in showers and rain in the east and
south-east.
SEA STATE: 3.0 to 4.0m reaching 5.0 to 7.0m in the south-eastern parts, with
S to SW swell.
CAPE EAST (32.5S/40S, 20E/50E):
WIND : W to NW 15 to 25 reaching 30 to 40 in the western half, spreading
to the southern parts towards mid-period, while becoming SW 25 to
35 from the west, spreading to the central parts by the end of
the period.
VIS : Moderate to poor in showers and thundershowers in the east at
first, but in the west, spreading to the east towards the end of
the period.
SEA STATE: 3.0 to 4.0m, except in the north-east, 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 : SE to E 10 to 20 in the north-west at first, otherwise N to NE 10
to 20 reaching 25 in the north, but S to SW 10 to 20 in the west
at first, reaching 25 to 35 in the south-west towards the end of
the period.
VIS : Good, but moderate to poor in showers and thundershowers in
places in the south and west.
SEA STATE: 3.0 to 4.0m in the south and western parts, with S to SW swell.
MOZAMBIQUE CHANNEL:
WIND : Variable 05 to 10 in the north and south, otherwise S to SE 10 to
20 but E to NE 10 to 20 in the west and south-west.
VIS : Good, but moderate in showers and thundershowers in the northern
and south-western parts until 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 : Moderate in showers and thundershowers in places.
MARION FORTIES EAST (40S/50S, 35E/50E):
WIND : W to NW 10 to 20 reaching 25 to 35 in the south and east at
first, but in the west towards mid-period, drifting to the north
and east towards the end of the period.
VIS : Good, but moderate to poor in frontal rain and showers in the
east at first, but in the west towards mid-period, spreading to
the north and south-east towards the end of period.
SEA STATE: 3.5 to 4.5m, reaching 5.0 to 6.0m in west, spreading to the
south-east towards 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)
26/04/20 AT 1600UTC
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 running over Southeastern KER.
- Gale expected over Southwestern CRO.
PART 2: GENERAL SYNOPSIS, 26/04/20 AT 1200UTC
- Cold front over KER currently moving away.
- Extensive area of high pressure over AMS and WAM, with a high-pressure system of 1028 hPa near 34S/82E, moving slowly east-northeast.
- Cold front expected over western CRO and south-western WAM.
PART 3: FORECAST FOR 24 HOURS FROM 26/04/20 at 1800UTC to 26/04/21 at 1800UTC
WAM (30S/40S, 50E/65E)
Showers, sometimes accompanied by thunderstorms, in the south-west during the day.
WIND: Anticlockwise over the eastern, and northerly 46 ahead of a new front
over the western.
SEA : Moderate.
VIS : Poor in areas of rainfall.
AMS (30S/40S, 65E/80E)
Few showers.
WIND: Anticlockwise force 2 to 4.
SEA : Moderate, becoming rough over the far south-eastern area towards the
end of the forecast period due to a southerly swell of 3 to 4 meters.
VIS : Good.
CRO (40S/50S, 50E/65E)
Rain and frontal showers arriving from the West.
WIND: North sector 5/6 locally 7 from the West zone and freshening North-
West sector 6/7 locally 8 on the South-West zone ahead of a new front
returning West sector 3 to 6 in the rear at the end of the period.
SEA : rough to strong from North to South, locally very strong on South zone
at the end. West swell 2 to 4 metres on South zone.
VIS: poor under precipitation.
KER (40S/50S, 65E/80E)
Rain and frontal showers moving north-eastwards.
WIND : South-westerly 7 to 9, locally 10, with strong gusts in the south-
east, veering north-westerly 4 to 6 in the west during the day ahead
of a new front
SEA : Moderate to rough from the north-west to the south-east, becoming very
rough over the south-east area shortly, locally very heavy over the
far south-eastern area later. South-westerly swell 2 to 3 m initially,
increasing shortly to 4 to 6 m over the south-eastern area.
VIS : Poor under precipitation.