000 AGXX40 KNHC 190556 MIMATS MARINE WEATHER DISCUSSION NWS NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL 100 AM EST THU JAN 19 2012 MARINE WEATHER DISCUSSION FOR THE GULF OF MEXICO...CARIBBEAN SEA AND SOUTHWEST NORTH ATLC S OF 31N W OF 55W. GULF OF MEXICO... A COLD FRONT CURRENTLY EXTENDS FROM TAMPA BAY TO 26N90W THEN LIES QUASI STATIONARY TO 26N96W TO 24N98W. WINDS ARE NLY AT 10-15 KT N OF THE FRONT E OF 90W BUT ALREADY BECOMING SE-S N OF THE FRONT W OF 90W WITH NIGHT CHANNEL IMAGERY SHOWING THE FRONTAL CLOUDS ALREADY BEGINNING TO LIFT N NEAR 25N96W. SE-S 15-20 KT WINDS WILL COVER ALL GULF WATERS TONIGHT AND FRI WITH A RIDGE FROM THE FL BIG BEND TO THE TX COASTAL BEND. THE GRADIENT WILL RELAX SOME ON SAT SUPPORTING SLY 10-15 KT WINDS AS THE NEXT COLD FRONT SLIPS OFF THE TX COAST SAT AFTERNOON...BUT IMMEDIATELY STALLS SAT EVENING. THE RIDGE WILL STRENGTHEN AGAIN SUN FROM TAMPA BAY TO SE TX PUSHING THESE NEW FRONTAL REMNANTS BRIEFLY N OF THE AREA. THE RIDGE WILL WEAKEN AGAIN SUN NIGHT WITH THE FRONT MOVING BACK OFFSHORE REACHING FROM THE FL PANHANDLE TO SE TX MON AFTERNOON...AND THEN STALLING E TO W ACROSS THE GULF ALONG 28N MON EVENING...AND LIFTING N AGAIN LATE MON NIGHT. EXPECT ADJUSTMENTS TO THE TIMING OF THESE FRONTAL EVENTS IN FUTURE PACKAGES. SOUTHWEST N ATLC S OF 31N W OF 55W AND TROPICAL N ATLC... REMNANTS OF THE INITIAL FRONT ARE CURRENTLY WASHING OUT FROM 19N55W ACROSS THE VIRGIN ISLANDS AND PUERTO RICO TO JUST S OF THE MONA PASSAGE WITH SCATTERED SHOWERS ALONG THE BOUNDARY...AND ISOLATED TSTMS JUST TO THE N OF PUERTO RICO ATTM. A RIDGE EXTENDING FROM 31N55W TO THE CENTRAL BAHAMAS WILL SHIFT E TODAY AS A COLD FRONT CURRENTLY EXTENDING FROM 31N73W TO CENTRAL FL CONTINUES SE...BUT SLOWS TONIGHT ALONG A LINE FROM 31N62W TO 27N67W TO 23N78W. THE NORTHERN SEGMENT OF THE FRONT WILL CONTINUE E TO ALONG 31N55W TO 25N65W FRI NIGHT...WITH THE SEGMENT OF FRONT W OF 65W BECOMING VERY WEAK AND LIFTING N ON SAT. AN E-W RIDGE WILL EXTEND ALONG 31N W OF BERMUDA SUN AND SUN NIGHT WITH THE NEXT COLD FRONT MOVING OFF GA/FL BORDER MON EVENING..REACHING A POSITION FROM 31N75W TO 28N80W AROUND SUNRISE TUE. CARIBBEAN SEA... NE-E N WINDS CONTINUE AT 20-25 KT OVER THE CENTRAL CARIBBEAN AND GENERALLY NE-E 10-15 KT ELSEWHERE TODAY. THE GRADIENT WILL TIGHTEN LATE TONIGHT INCREASING WINDS TO 25-30 KT OVER THE S-CENTRAL PART...AND 15-20 KT ELSEWHERE WITH LITTLE CHANGE EXPECTED THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE PERIOD. WARNINGS... GULF OF MEXICO... .NONE. .CARIBBEAN SEA AND TROPICAL N ATLC... .NONE. .SW N ATLC... .NONE. FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION PLEASE VISIT HTTP://WWW.HURRICANES.GOV/MARINE $$ FORECASTER NELSON