000 AGXX40 KNHC 241816 MIMATS Marine Weather Discussion NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL 216 PM EDT Fri Mar 24 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... Strong high pressure centered to the northeast of the region will support fresh to strong east to southeast winds across the majority of the basin into tonight. As the high shifts eastward, winds will gradually decrease late tonight into Saturday. On Saturday winds will remain 20 to 25 kt over the north central Gulf and Straits of Florida with seas to 8 ft over the Straits of Florida. These winds will also decrease below 20 kt by Saturday night. An upper trough will clip the northern Gulf this weekend which will bring a chance of showers and thunderstorms to that portion of the basin. A thermal trough will move off the Yucatan and over the eastern Bay of Campeche each night the next several nights. Fresh to strong winds will be possible with the trough tonight, then mainly fresh winds thereafter. ...CARIBBEAN SEA AND TROPICAL N ATLANTIC FROM 07N TO 19N BETWEEN 55W AND 64W... Strong high pressure north of the basin supports fresh to strong winds over the north central and northwestern Caribbean. This pattern will continue into Saturday before winds diminish to mainly moderate over this portion of the basin for the remainder of the forecast period. A weaker than normal pressure pattern will persist over the central and eastern Caribbean the next several days, as low pressure begins to develop north of Hispaniola and slowly tracks north to northeast. This pressure pattern will result in mainly gentle to moderate trades over the Caribbean. Large swell over the tropical Atlantic zones will diminish below 8 ft tonight. However, additional northerly swell of 8 to 9 ft will propagate across the zones north of 15N over the weekend. An upper low over the central Caribbean will support showers and isolated thunderstorms across the eastern Caribbean through at least Saturday. Heavy rainfall will also be possible over the northern Leeward Islands, Puerto Rico, and northern Hispaniola. ...SW N ATLANTIC INCLUDING THE BAHAMAS... A cold front from 26N65W to 25N72W and stationary to the Florida Straits will gradually merge with a developing low just north of Hispaniola through Saturday. Strong to near gale northeast to east winds north of the front will continue through Saturday, with seas of 8 to 15 ft outside of the Bahamas, highest near the cold front. The low will organize through the weekend as it drifts from just north of Hispaniola to our northeastern waters. The pressure gradient between the developing low and high pressure to the north will support gale force winds within a few hundred nm north of the low through Monday. A broader area of 20 to 25 kt winds will accompany mainly the northern two-thirds of this system. The low is then forecast by models to accelerate east of the area by Wednesday, allowing for conditions to improve over the northeastern zones. High pressure will become centered over the northwestern zones early next week providing light winds. Swell of 6 to 8 ft will move across these zones from the northeast during that time. $$ .WARNINGS...Any changes impacting coastal NWS offices will be coordinated through AWIPS II Collaboration Chat, or by telephone: .GULF OF MEXICO... None. .CARIBBEAN SEA AND TROPICAL N ATLANTIC FROM 07N TO 19N BETWEEN 55W AND 64W... None. .SW N ATLANTIC INCLUDING THE BAHAMAS... .AMZ113...ATLANTIC FROM 27N TO 31N BETWEEN 70W AND 77W... GALE CONDITIONS POSSIBLE Sun into Sun night. .AMZ115...ATLANTIC FROM 27N TO 31N BETWEEN 65W AND 70W... GALE CONDITIONS POSSIBLE Sun into Mon. .AMZ119...ATLANTIC FROM 22N TO 27N E OF BAHAMAS TO 70W... GALE CONDITIONS POSSIBLE Sun into Sun night. .AMZ121...ATLANTIC FROM 22N TO 27N BETWEEN 65W AND 70W... Gale Warning Sat into Sat night. GALE CONDITIONS POSSIBLE Sun into Sun night. $$ *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 Latto. National Hurricane Center.