Welcome to the Weekly Weather Update – your guide to the world’s oceans and seas. Each week, we highlight key marine weather patterns and analyse unusual or significant weather events. From calm spells under high pressure to tropical cyclones forming in equatorial waters, and from jet streams steering oceanic storms to anomalies in sea-surface temperature that shape global climate patterns. Here’s what this week’s weather has in store.
The North Sea
This week, high pressure will dominate the weather across much of the North Sea region. As a result, calm conditions and generally favorable offshore weather are expected, particularly in the central and southern areas. Winds will initially be moderate to fresh (15–20 knots), but from Thursday onward they will ease to light or gentle breezes in the central and southern North Sea, typically around 5–10 knots. Significant wave heights are expected to decrease to below 1 meter. These calm and dry conditions are likely to persist through the remainder of the week, including the weekend.
In contrast, conditions in the northernmost part of the North Sea will be less favorable. Strong winds are expected initially, easing to mostly fresh (15–20 knots) from Thursday onward, accompanied by waves of around 4 meters at first, subsiding to 2–3 meters later. Passing frontal troughs will bring periods of precipitation (see Figure 1).
Figure 1. Calm weather over large parts of the North Sea.
Azores region
The region near the Azores is known for its persisting high pressure conditions. Not this week though, a deep low brings unsettled weather to this area. An active low-pressure system will linger between the Azores and Portugal over the coming days. Near the Azores, this will result in strong to gale-force northerly winds, with speeds reaching up to 40 knots, accompanied by high waves of 6–8 meters. Several troughs are expected to cross the area, bringing numerous showers and thunderstorms.
After the weekend, the low will move southward while gradually weakening, leading to a gradual improvement in conditions across the region.
Conclusion
The North Sea is expected to experience generally favorable weather throughout the week, with more unsettled conditions in the far north.
In contrast, the region near the Azores will experience rough weather conditions with gale force winds and high waves.
It is recommended to monitor weather reports regularly to stay safe and informed throughout the coming week.
Stay updated on LinkedIn
We plan to post this Weekly Weather Update on our Infoplaza for Marine Weather Operations LinkedIn page as well. This is also the place where we will share other insightful marine weather articles, so be sure to follow us to never miss an update.
