000
AXNT20 KNHC 262324
TWDAT 

TROPICAL WEATHER DISCUSSION
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL
705 PM EST TUE FEB 26 2008

TROPICAL WEATHER DISCUSSION FOR NORTH AMERICA...CENTRAL 
AMERICA...THE GULF OF MEXICO...THE CARIBBEAN SEA...NORTHERN 
SECTIONS OF SOUTH AMERICA...AND THE ATLANTIC OCEAN TO THE 
AFRICAN COAST FROM THE EQUATOR TO 32N. THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION 
IS BASED ON SATELLITE IMAGERY...METEOROLOGICAL ANALYSIS... 
WEATHER OBSERVATIONS...AND RADAR.

BASED ON 1800 UTC SURFACE ANALYSIS AND SATELLITE IMAGERY THROUGH 
2315 UTC.

...ITCZ...
THE ITCZ AXIS IS CENTERED ALONG 7N10W 1N30W CROSSING THE EQUATOR 
NEAR 35W TO 3S45W.  NO SIGNIFICANT CONVECTION.

...DISCUSSION...

GULF OF MEXICO...
AS OF 2100 UTC...A COLD FRONT TRAVERSES THE GULF OF MEXICO FROM 
THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE TO THE BAY OF CAMPECHE ALONG 30N83W 26N90W 
20N96W.  SCATTERED MODERATE CONVECTION IS OVER N FLORIDA AND THE 
NE GULF OF MEXICO 120 NM S OF THE FRONT...N OF 26N.  NLY GALE 
FORCE WINDS ARE N OF THE FRONT...WHILE SWLY 5-15 KT WINDS ARE S 
OF THE FRONT.  A 20 DEGREE TEMPERATURE SPREAD PRESENTLY EXISTS 
BETWEEN KEY WEST FLORIDA AND PENSACOLA FLORIDA.  IN THE UPPER 
LEVELS...THE BASE OF AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH IS OVER THE NW GULF 
OF MEXICO AND IS SUPPORTING THE SURFACE COLD FRONT.  SWLY UPPER 
LEVEL FLOW WITH CONSIDERABLE MOISTURE IS NOTED OVER THE ENTIRE 
GULF.  EXPECT THE COLD FRONT TO BE COMPLETELY THROUGH THE GULF 
IN 24 HOURS AND EXTEND FROM CENTRAL CUBA TO BELIZE WITH 
CONVECTION.  

CARIBBEAN...
MODERATE TRADES DOMINATE THE CARIBBEAN SEA AND CENTRAL AMERICA.  
PATCHES OF BROKEN LOW CLOUDS WITH SCATTERED SHOWERS DOTS THE 
AREA MOSTLY E OF 80W.  MULTILAYERED CLOUDS WITH ISOLATED SHOWERS 
ARE OVER THE YUCATAN CHANNEL.  IN THE UPPER LEVELS...ZONAL FLOW 
PREVAILS WITH STRONG SUBSIDENCE.   EXPECT THE COLD FRONT TO BE 
OVER THE NW CARIBBEAN IN 24 HOURS WITH CONVECTION.  EXPECT 
LITTLE CHANGE OVER THE REMAINDER OF THE CARIBBEAN.    

ATLANTIC...
A 1018 MB HIGH IS OVER THE W ATLANTIC NEAR 28N65W.  A COLD FRONT 
IS OVER THE CENTRAL ATLANTIC FROM 32N49W TO 26N60W.  SCATTERED 
SHOWERS ARE WITHIN 60 NM S OF FRONT.   A 1027 MB HIGH IS OVER 
THE E ATLANTIC NEAR 33N25W.  A SURFACE RIDGE AXIS EXTENDS SW 
FROM THE HIGH TO THE CENTRAL ATLANTIC NEAR 24N52W.  IN THE UPPER 
LEVELS... ZONAL FLOW IS N OF 20N FROM 40W-80W.  AN UPPER LEVEL 
LOW IS OVER THE E ATLANTIC NEAR 23N26W.  THE WRN EXTENT OF AN 
UPPER LEVEL RIDGE IS OVER THE TROPICAL E ATLANTIC AND W AFRICA S 
OF 17N AND E OF 30W.  A WEAK JETSTREAM IS PRODUCING A SWATH OF 
HIGH LEVEL CLOUDINESS OVER THE TROPICAL E ATLANTIC FROM 10N30W 
TO BEYOND 20N10W OVER W AFRICA.  EXPECT THE COLD FRONT TO EXTEND 
FROM NEAR 30N70W TO CENTRAL CUBA NEAR 22N78W IN 24 HOURS WITH 
CONVECTION.  

$$
FORMOSA