North Sea weather: Shift from low to high pressure

On Tuesday, 3rd of June, a broad low-pressure area is located near the Faroe Islands. This low is expected to move slowly northward, approaching the Greenland Sea over the weekend.

A strong pressure gradient is present over the North Sea on Tuesday, gradually weakening by Wednesday. As a result, winds are stronger across much of the North Sea on Tuesday (see Figure 1), with speeds reaching 20–30 knots in most areas. Along the southwestern Norwegian coast, southerly to southeasterly winds are expected to intensify, potentially reaching up to 45 knots locally.

Wave conditions remain relatively calm in coastal areas, with significant wave heights below 2.5 meters. However, across much of the North Sea, wave heights are forecast to range between 2.5 and 4 meters, with waves exceeding 4 meters along the southwestern Norwegian coast. The weather will stay unsettled across the entire North Sea all day.

As the low-pressure system moves northward, conditions gradually improve across the region on Wednesday. From Thursday onward, calm and favorable weather is expected throughout the entire North Sea.

On Saturday, southwesterly winds over the southern North Sea may locally exceed 30 knots, with wave heights reaching up to 2.5 meters. However, as a potential low-pressure system develops over the North Sea that day, forecast confidence decreases somewhat. On Sunday, high pressure is expected to bring calm and settled weather across the entire North Sea.

In summary, unsettled weather is expected over the North Sea initially, with conditions improving from Thursday onward. On Saturday, somewhat unsettled weather may return to the southern North Sea.

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