000 AGXX40 KNHC 051941 MIMATS Marine Weather Discussion NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL 241 PM EST THU JAN 5 2017 Marine Weather Discussion for the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea, and Tropical North Atlantic from 07N to 19N between 55W and 64W and the Southwest North Atlantic including the Bahamas ...GULF OF MEXICO... MODEL PREFERENCE: Global model consensus. Medium-high confidence. The tail end of a dissipating cold front extends to the coast of northern Cuba where it stalls to coastal waters of the northeast Yucatan Peninsula. This frontal boundary is forecast to vanish tonight. A strong cold front will enter the NW Gulf early Friday morning and will sweep across the basin through Saturday evening. Fresh to strong northeast winds west of the front will increase to widespread near gale northerly winds Friday night. The front will extend from the Florida big bend to just north of the Bay of Campeche near 20N97W Saturday morning with gale conditions west of the front, roughly from 21N to 28N and west of 90W. Gale winds and associated building seas will rapidly spread to the Bay of Campeche persisting through Saturday night. The strong front will push south of the basin Saturday night. Winds and seas will gradually diminish from west to east Sunday night through Monday. However, fresh to strong winds will prevail in the Florida Straits through Tuesday morning. ...CARIBBEAN SEA AND TROPICAL N ATLANTIC FROM 07N TO 19N BETWEEN55W AND 64W... MODEL PREFERENCE: Global model consensus. Medium-high confidence. A weak pressure gradient across the basin support gentle to moderate winds, except localized fresh to strong winds with 8 ft seas off the coast of Colombia. The tail end of a frontal boundary stalling from western Cuba and across the Yucatan Channel will dissipate tonight. The pressure gradient north of the area will strengthen again this weekend as strong high pressure builds behind a cold front moving through the Gulf of Mexico and western Atlantic. This will result on an areal increase of fresh to strong winds and associated seas across the central Caribbean Friday night through Saturday morning. The cold front will exit the Gulf of Mexico and enter NW Caribbean waters Saturday night with strong to near gale force winds and building seas to 12 ft behind it. The cold front will reach the Windward Passage Sunday afternoon and the Dominican Republic Monday afternoon. ...SW N ATLANTIC INCLUDING THE BAHAMAS... MODEL PREFERENCE: Global model consensus. Medium-high confidence. A dissipating cold front extending from 30N67W to the central Bahamas to northern Cuba will stall and continue to weaken tonight. A strong cold front will move off the southeast coast Saturday morning bringing strong to gale force winds and building seas to most of the forecast area Saturday through Monday. The front will race southeast, reaching from 31N64W to the Windward Passage Sunday afternoon, and from 31N56W to the Dominican Republic Monday afternoon. The high winds associated with the front will spawn large seas to 10-16 ft covering a large portion of the forecast area east of the Bahamas Sunday through Tuesday. $$ .WARNINGS...Any changes impacting coastal NWS offices will be coordinated through AWIPS II Collaboration Chat, or by telephone: .GULF OF MEXICO... .GMZ017...W CENTRAL GULF FROM 22N TO 26N W OF 94W... Gale Warning Fri night into Sat. GALE CONDITIONS POSSIBLE Sat. .GMZ023...SW GULF S OF 22N W OF 94W... Gale Warning Fri night into Sat. GALE CONDITIONS POSSIBLE Sat into Sat night. .GMZ025...E BAY OF CAMPECHE INCLUDING CAMPECHE BANK... GALE CONDITIONS POSSIBLE Sat. .CARIBBEAN SEA AND TROPICAL N ATLANTIC FROM 07N TO 19N BETWEEN 55W AND 64W... None. .SW N ATLANTIC INCLUDING THE BAHAMAS... None. $$ *For detailed zone descriptions, please visit: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/abouttafbprod.shtml#OWF Note: gridded marine forecasts are available in the National Digital Forecast Database (NDFD) at: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/marine/grids.php For additional information, please visit: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/marine $$ .Forecaster Ramos. National Hurricane Center.