000 AGXX40 KNHC 040741 MIMATS MARINE WEATHER DISCUSSION NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL 345 AM EDT SUN APR 4 2010 MARINE WEATHER DISCUSSION FOR GULF OF MEXICO...CARIBBEAN SEA AND SOUTHWEST NORTH ATLC S OF 31N W OF 55W GULF OF MEXICO... A RIDGE OF HIGH PRES WILL REMAIN IN PLACE ACROSS THE GULF WATERS TODAY THROUGH WED WITH SE RETURN FLOW IN THE 15 TO 20 KT RANGE ACROSS THE WESTERN GULF. WINDS WILL ALSO INCREASE TO 20 KT WITHIN 90 NM OF THE YUCATAN COAST AND ACROSS THE STRAITS OF FLORIDA IN THE EVENINGS. THE RIDGE WILL WEAKEN LATE WED AS A STRONG COLD FRONT MOVES OFF THE TEXAS COAST WED NIGHT FOLLOWED BY STRONG TO NEAR GALE FORCE WINDS AND BUILDING SEAS TO AROUND 11 FT. THE FRONT WILL REACH FROM SE LOUISIANA TO NEAR TAMPICO MEXICO EARLY THU THEN FROM THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE TO THE E BAY OF CAMPECHE THU EVENING. THE FRONT IS FORECAST TO TRANSVERSE THE ENTIRE GULF BY LATE FRI. SW N ATLC W OF 55W... A RIDGE PARALLEL TO THE BAHAMA ISLANDS FROM 31N76W TO PUERTO RICO IS EXPECTED TO REMAIN ALONG ROUGHLY THIS POSITION THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE FORECAST PERIOD. THE CENTRAL ATLC IS DOMINATED BY A 1003 MB LOW PRES EXPECTED TO MOVE SLOWLY SE. PRES GRADIENT BETWEEN THE RIDGE AND THE LOW PRES IS STILL PRODUCING A SWATCH OF NLY WINDS 20 KT OVER THE FORECAST WATERS E OF 72W. EXPECT THESE WINDS TO FURTHER DIMINISH BELOW 20 KT BY MIDDAY MON. THE ASSOCIATED NLY SWELLS RESULTING IN COMBINED SEAS TO 8 FT ARE ALREADY REACHING THE NE CARIBBEAN PASSAGES. AS SURFACE HIGH PRES MEANDERS NEAR 32N76W NEXT WEEK WINDS WILL BE IN THE 10 KT RANGE ALL WATERS N OF 27N ROTATING CLOCKWISE AROUND RIDGE...WITH GRADIENT SUPPORTING STRONGER NE TO E WINDS AT 15 TO 20 KT OVER WATERS S OF 27N THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF THE WEEK. SLY RETURN FLOW WILL SET UP BY THU...INCREASING TO 20 TO 25 KT THU NIGHT MAINLY N OF 27N W OF 75W...AHEAD OF THE NEXT COLD FRONT FORECAST TO ENTER THE NW PORTION OF THE REGION EARLY FRI. THE FRONT WILL REACH THE NW BAHAMAS LATE FRI. CARIBBEAN SEA AND TROPICAL N ATLC... THE FRONTAL TROUGH EXTENDS FROM 18N55W TO NEAR 15N61W. THE TROUGH WILL CONTINUE TO WEAKEN THROUGH SUN NIGHT. OTHERWISE ELY TRADES WILL PREVAIL THROUGH REMAINDER OF THE FORECAST PERIOD... WITH THE STRONGEST WINDS AND SEAS NEAR THE COAST OF COLOMBIA. NE WINDS OF 20 KT ARE ALSO NOTED ACROSS THE WINDWARD AND MONA PASSAGES PER A RECENT ASCAT PASS. THE NEXT COLD FRONT IS FORECAST BY THE COMPUTER MODELS TO ENTER THE NW CARIBBEAN LATE FRI. WARNINGS... ATLC... .NONE. CARIBBEAN... .NONE. GULF OF MEXICO... .NONE. FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION PLEASE VISIT HTTP://WWW.HURRICANES.GOV/MARINE $$ FORECASTER GR