The weather type and gale catalogues of the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency of Germany (BSH) provide a classification of the pattern and intensity of the general atmospheric circulation over the North and Baltic Sea. The methodology uses daily sea level pressure information to derive the following parameters: Classified weather type, cyclonality index (cyclonic or anticyclonic), predominant wind direction, and gale index. The BSH weather type and gale catalogues concisely document daily synoptic conditions since 1948 to present. The time series are being continuously extended to around two days behind present, and the most recently updated information is publicly available at https://www.bsh.de/EN/DATA/Climate-and-Sea/Weather-and-Gales/weather-and-gales_node.html