ZCZC MIATCDAT2 ALL TTAA00 KNHC DDHHMM HURRICANE GEORGES DISCUSSION NUMBER 42 NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIAMI FL 5 PM EDT FRI SEP 25 1998 WHILE RADAR DATA FROM KEY WEST IS CURRENTLY NOT AVAILABLE...THE EYE IS BECOMING MORE DISTINCT ON SATELLITE PICTURES AND THE CENTRAL PRESSURE HAS FALLEN A LITTLE OVER THE PAST FEW HOURS. RECENTLY...DRY TORTUGAS HAD 976.3 MB WITH 18 KT WINDS...SO THE CENTRAL PRESSURE IS ANALYZED AS 975 MB. MAXIMUM WINDS ARE ESTIMATED TO BE 90 KT. THE HEADING HAS BEEN 300/12 KT FOR A FEW HOURS...BUT A RETURN TO A NW MOTION SHOULD RESUME SHORTLY. THE 12Z NOGAPS FORECAST FOR THE LARGE-SCALE EVOLUTION RESEMBLES PREVIOUS RUNS WITH A DEVELOPING ANTICYCLONE OVER THE SOUTHEASTERN STATES DRIVING GEORGES TOWARD THE NORTHERN GULF COAST. LONG-RANGE FORECASTERS AT THE NWS HYDROMETEOROLOGICAL PREDICTION CENTER HAVE INDICATED A POTENTIAL SIGNIFICANT SLOWING NEAR THE END OF THE PERIOD. THIS IS CONSISTENT WITH OUTPUT FROM THE UKMET AND NOGAPS RUNS AND BAM...AND THE OFFICIAL FORECAST NOW SHOWS A LITTLE SLOWER MOVEMENT NEAR THE END OF THE PERIOD. WITH RADAR DATA CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE FROM KEY WEST AND GEORGES SOON TO MOVE OUT OF RANGE OF THE MIAMI RADAR...THE NHC WILL RETURN TO 3- HOURLY INTERMEDIATE ADVISORIES AND DISCONTINUE HOURLY POSITION ESTIMATES. A HURRICANE WARNING COULD BE REQUIRED LATER THIS EVENING OR EARLY IN THE MORNING FOR A PORTION OF THE NORTHERN GULF COAST. RAPPAPORT FORECAST POSITIONS AND MAX WINDS INITIAL 25/2100Z 24.9N 82.9W 90 KTS 12HR VT 26/0600Z 26.0N 84.4W 95 KTS 24HR VT 26/1800Z 27.3N 86.2W 95 KTS 36HR VT 27/0600Z 28.8N 87.7W 100 KTS 48HR VT 27/1800Z 30.1N 88.2W 100 KTS 72HR VT 28/1800Z 32.5N 88.5W 35 KTS...INLAND NNNN