WEATHER BULLETIN FOR THE HIGH SEAS FOR METAREA VII.
ISSUED BY THE SOUTH AFRICAN WEATHER SERVICE ON THE
24TH OF MAY 2026 AT 13:30 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 242200 TO 252200 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: W to NW 35 in the south-east at first, but SW 35 in the south
until mid-period.
2. CAPE WEST: W to NW 35 in the south-west at first.
3. MARION FORTIES EAST: W to SW 35 in the south-west, spreading to the
south-east towards the end of the period.
SYNOPTIC CHART 12:00Z
=====================
High 1022 hPa 31s09e, High 1022 hPa 33s32e, High 1027 hPa 34s57e
Low 962 hPa 52s17w, Low 970 hPa 60s37e, Low 1010 hPa 45s47e
1. Cold Front: 35s28w 37s16w 40s12w 45s03w into 52s17w
2. Cold Front: 35s06e 40s22e 45s31e 50s36e into 60s37e
3. Cold Front: 30s38e 35s45e 40s50e into 45s47e
AREA FORECAST:
==============
ASCENSION (06S/15S, 00E/20W):
WIND : SE to E 10 to 20.
VIS : Good.
SEA STATE: 3.0m in the west until mid-period, with S to SE swell.
ANGOLA (06S/15S, 00E/00N):
WIND : S to SE 10 to 20, but SW 05 to 15 in the east.
VIS : Good.
ST HELENA (15S/30S, 00E/20W):
WIND : NW 05 to 15 in the south-east until mid-period, otherwise SE to E
05 to 15 but variable 05 to 10 in the south.
VIS : Good, but moderate in showers and rain in the west and south-
east.
SEA STATE: 3.0 to 4.0m in the south-west from mid-period, with S to SW
swell.
TRADES (15S/30S, 00E/WEST COAST):
WIND : S to SE 10 to 20, but anticyclonic 05 to 15 in the south-west.
VIS : Good.
SEA STATE: 3.0m in the south-west until mid-period, with SW swell.
TRISTAN (30S/40S, 00E/20W) :
WIND : W to NW 15 to 25 in the east, reaching 30 to 35 in the south-east
at first, otherwise SW 15 to 25 reaching 30 to 35 in the south
until mid-period.
VIS : Moderate in showers and rain.
SEA STATE: 3.0 to 4.0m, reaching 5.0 to 7.0m in the south, with SW swell.
CAPE WEST (30S/40S, 00E/20E):
WIND : Anticyclonic 05 to 15 in the north-west, otherwise W to NW 15 to
25 reaching 30 to 35 in the south-west at first, but S to SE 10
to 20 in the north-east.
VIS : Good, but moderate in showers and rain in the southern and
western halves.
SEA STATE: 3.0 to 4.0m in the southern and western halves, reaching 5.0 to
6.0m in the south-west towards mid-period, with SW swell.
CAPE EAST (32.5S/40S, 20E/50E):
WIND : Anticyclonic 05 to 15 in the central parts, otherwise W to SW 10
to 20, but E to NE 05 to 15 in the north-west, where it will
reach 20 to 30 towards the end of the period.
VIS : Good, but moderate in showers and thundershowers in the south.
SEA STATE: 3.0 to 3.5m in the west, with S to SW swell.
DURBAN EAST (32.5S/25S, EAST COAST/55E):
WIND : Variable 05 to 10, but NE to E 10 to 20 in the north and east,
but 20 to 30 in the south-west towards the end of the period.
VIS : Moderate in showers and thundershowers, but good in the west.
MOZAMBIQUE CHANNEL:
WIND : S to SE 10 to 20.
VIS : Moderate in showers and rain in places.
MADAGASCAR EAST (10S/25S, EAST COAST/55E):
WIND : NE 05 to 15 in the south, otherwise SE to E 10 to 20 reaching 25
in the extreme north-west.
VIS : Moderate in showers and rain in places.
MARION FORTIES EAST (40S/50S, 35E/50E):
WIND : NW 15 to 25 in the south-east at first, otherwise W to SW 20 to
30 reaching 35 in the south-west, spreading to the south-east
towards the end of the period.
VIS : Good, but moderate in showers and rain over the eastern half
until mid-period.
SEA STATE: 3.0m in the north-east at first, but 3.5 to 4.5m in the south-
west, spreading to the central parts 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)
2026/05/24 AT 0600UTC
AVERAGED WIND SPEED ON BEAUFORT SCALE. (WIND GUSTS MAY BE ABOUT 40% STRONGER THAN THE AVERAGES GIVEN HERE).
PART 1: WARNING
GALE RUNNING OVER AMS AND KER.
PART 2: GENERAL SYNOPSIS, 2026/05/24 AT 0000UTC
- FILLING LOW 975 NEAR 48S/81E, SLOWLY MOVING EASTWARD.
- HIGH 1026 NEAR 33S/53E SLOWLY MOVING EASTWARD.
- LOW 1010 NEAR 44S/42E WITH ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT (CF) AXIS 33S/37E,
40S/46E, 45S/42E SLOWLY MOVING EASTWARD.
- COLD FONT (CG) AT END OVER FAR SOUTH-WESTERN CRO.
PART 3: FORECAST FOR 24 HOURS FROM 2026/05/24 AT 0600UTC TO 2026/05/25 AT 0600UTC
WAM (30S/40S, 50E/65E)
FRONTAL RAIN AND SHOWERS OVER WESTERN.
WIND: ANTICLOCKWISE 3/4 AT TIMES 5, BUT NW 5/6 WITH GUST AHEAD OF CF BACKING
SW 4/5 BEHIND.
SEA : MODERATE TO ROUGH FROM WEST TO EAST, BUT VERY ROUGH OVER FAR EASTERN
BY S SWELL 3 TO 5M ABATING.
VIS : POOR IN PRECIPITATION.
AMS (30S/40S, 65E/80E)
SHOWERS OVER EASTERN BECOMING GRADUALLY LESS FREQUENT.
WIND: SOUTH-WESTERLY 6/7 AT TIMES 8 WITH SEVERE GUSTS, DECREASING GRADUALLY
FROM WEST SOUTHERLY 4/5, THEN ANTICLOCKWISE 3/4 AT END.
SEA : VERY ROUGH TO HIGH BY LONG SOUTH-WESTERLY SWELL ABATING 4 O 6M.
BECOMING ROUGH OVER FAR WESTERN LATER.
VIS : POOR IN PRECIPITATION.
CRO (40S/50S, 50E/65E)
FRONTAL RAIN AND SHOWERS WITH CF THEN CG.
WIND: ANTICLOCKWISE 3/4 AT TIMES 5, BUT NORTHERLY 5/6 AHEAD OF CF, BACKING W
4/5 BEHIND, THEN INCREASING 5/6 AT END OVER FAR SOUTH-WESTERN. GUSTS.
SEA : MODERATE TO ROUGH, BUT VERY ROUGH AT FIRST OVER FAR NORTH-EASTERN BY S
SWELL 3 TO 4M.
VIS : POOR IN PRECIPITATION.
KER (40S/50S, 65E/80E)
SHOWERS OVER EASTERN BECOMING GRADUALLY LESS FREQUENT.
WIND: S 5/6 BUT 7/8 OVER EASTERN WITH SEVERE GUSTS, BECOMING GRADUALLY
ANTICLOCKWISE 3/4 FROM WEST AT TIMES 5.
SEA : VERY ROUGH, BUT HIGH AND CROSSED OVER NORTH-EASTERN, BECOMING
GRADUALLY ROUGH FROM WEST. SOUTH-WESTERLY SWELL 3 TO 5 M
VIS : POOR IN PRECIPITATION.