The Shipping Forecast on BBC Radio 4: when each bulletin goes out, on the timelines of your cities and in your own time zone, so you do not have to work out UK time from abroad or across the change of the clocks.
The forecast is written by the Met Office and read on air in a fixed order: gale warnings, then the general synopsis, then the 31 sea areas around the British Isles from Viking and North Utsire round to Southeast Iceland, each with wind, sea state, weather and visibility. For sailors it is the official outlook for the next 24 hours; for many listeners it is a late-night ritual.
The two main bulletins, at 00:48 and 05:34 UK time every day, are extended: after the sea areas come reports from coastal weather stations and the inshore waters forecast for the coasts of the UK. At weekends there is a shorter third bulletin at 17:54. The bulletins air at the same UK time all year, so their time in your city moves when the UK changes its clocks in March and October, or when your own country does.
Select a bulletin to see what it contains, its UK time and the days it airs, with a link to listen live on BBC Sounds. Coastguard weather broadcasts on medium frequency are in the UK & Ireland marine weather calendar.
At 00:48 and 05:34 UK time every day, and at 17:54 on Saturdays and Sundays. The timeline shows each bulletin at your local time, wherever you are.
Twice on weekdays and three times at weekends. The weekday 12:01 and 17:54 bulletins were long wave only and ended in 2024; BBC Radio 4 long wave itself closed in June 2026.
Straight after the Shipping Forecast and the reports from coastal stations in the 00:48 and 05:34 bulletins: each runs for about ten minutes in all.
On BBC Radio 4 on FM, DAB, digital TV and BBC Sounds. Each bulletin on the timeline has a link that opens the Radio 4 live stream on BBC Sounds.
In Shortwave. Perfect Clock — a world clock with your calendar across time zones.