000 AGXX40 KNHC 081830 MIMATS MARINE WEATHER DISCUSSION NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL 130 PM EST MON DEC 08 2008 MARINE WEATHER DISCUSSION FOR GULF OF MEXICO... CARIBBEAN SEA AND SOUTHWEST NORTH ATLC S OF 31N W OF 55W. RADIOFAX SCHEDULE FOR GRAPHICAL WIND WAVE...SURFACE FORECAST AND PEAK WAVE PERIOD CHARTS HAS CHANGED. FOR THE ATLANTIC BASIN THIS INCLUDES 24...36...48 AND 72 HOUR WIND WAVE..24...48..72 HOUR SURFACE FORECAST AND 48 AND 72 HOUR PEAK WAVE PERIOD CHARTS. FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION PLEASE REFER TO THE FAX SCHEDULE ON THE NHC WEB SITE AT HTTP://WWW.NHC.NOAA.GOV/RADIOFAX.SHTML GULF OF MEXICO... SLY RETURN FLOW HAS INCREASED TO 20 KT OVER THE W WATERS BETWEEN A 1031 MB HIGH OVER THE MID-ATLANTIC STATES AND DEEPENING LOW PRES OVER THE SOUTHERN PLAINS. THIS FLOW WILL INCREASE TO 20-30 KT AND EXPAND E TONIGHT AND TUE AS A STRONG COLD FRONT MAKES ITS APPROACH. NWP MODELS ARE IN GOOD AGREEMENT IN TIMING THE ENTRANCE OF THE FRONT INTO THE NW WATERS BETWEEN TUE EVENING AND THE OVERNIGHT HOURS. GALE HEADLINES ARE POSTED FOR THE WRN ZONE...BIG QUESTION...HOWEVER...IS SHOULD THE GALE BE UPGRADED TO A STORM WARNING. AT THE MOMENT...AM LEANING TOWARD UPGRADING FOR THE SW ZONE...ESPECIALLY CONCERNED FOR THE AREA NEAR THE MEXICAN COAST AS LOCAL TOPOGRAPHY TYPICALLY ENHANCING FUNNELING IN THIS TYPE OF WIND REGIME. MODELS ARE IN GOOD AGREEMENT IN DEVELOPING A FRONTAL WAVE WED THAT DEEPENS OVER THE N GULF WATERS AND THE U.S. THE FRONT CLEARS THE AREA LATE THU AND WINDS WILL GRADUALLY DIMINISH FROM W TO E AS HIGH PRES BUILDS E OVER THE SOUTHERN PLAINS. CARIBBEAN AND TROPICAL NORTH ATLC... QSCAT PASS AROUND 12Z AND SFC OBS SHOW A LARGE AREA OF 15-20 KT ELY WINDS ACROSS THE CARIBBEAN WITH A FEW 25 KT WIND VECTORS NEAR THE COAST OF COLOMBIA. TRADES ARE EXPECTED TO INCREASE ACROSS THE ENTIRE AREA TONIGHT THROUGH WED AS HIGH PRES SHIFTS E AND STRENGTHENS. WINDS TO NEAR GALE FORCE ARE POSSIBLE NEAR THE COLOMBIAN COAST. BY THU...THE TRADES WILL BEGIN TO DIMINISH AS THE HIGH RETREATS TO THE NE ATLANTIC...BUT N WINDS WILL BEGIN TO INCREASE OVER THE W CARIBBEAN BEHIND THE FRONT (MENTIONED IN THE GULF OF MEXICO SECTION). THE FRONT WILL STALL FROM E CUBA TO 11N82W FRI AND GRADUALLY DISSIPATE INTO THE WEEKEND. A SFC TROUGH ALONG 51W IS ENHANCING NE WINDS ON ITS W SIDE OVER A PORTION OF THE TROP N ATLC. AS THE TROUGH MOVES W...IT WILL HELP TIGHTEN THE GRADIENT CAUSING 20-25 KT OVER MUCH OF THE ZONE TONIGHT THROUGH WED NIGHT. SW NORTH ATLANTIC... A FRONTAL BOUNDARY IS STALLING AND SLOWLY FIZZLING OUT FROM 27N65W TO W CUBA. NW TO N 15-20 KT WINDS N OF THE FRONT E OF 70W COMBINED WITH NW SWELL IS ELEVATING SEAS TO 8-11 FT. THE TIGHTENED PRES GRADIENT BETWEEN THE REMNANTS OF THE BOUNDARY AND STRENGTHENING HIGH PRES MOVING OFF THE MID-ATLANTIC COAST WILL CAUSE A LARGE SWATH OF 20-25 KT NE TO E WINDS N OF THE FRONT TONIGHT AND TUE. THE STRONGEST BELT OF WINDS SHIFT E OF THE AREA WED AS THE HIGH MOVES INTO THE NE ATLC. THE PRES PATTERN TIGHTENS AGAIN LATE THU AS LOW PRES AND AN ASSOCIATED FRONT APPROACH THE AREA. A GALE HEADLINE IS POSTED FOR THE EXTREME NW WATERS IN SLY WAA REGIME. MODELS HAVE BACKED OFF SLIGHTLY ON THE MAGNITUDE...BUT WINDS STILL LOOK NEAR MINIMAL GALE. THE FRONT MOVES INTO THE AREA THU NIGHT AND REACHES 31N76W TO 23N79W FRI. ATLANTIC... NONE. CARIBBEAN... NONE. GULF OF MEXICO... NONE. FORECASTER CANGIALOSI. TROPICAL PREDICTION CENTER.