000 AGXX40 KNHC 060649 MIMATS Marine Weather Discussion NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL 149 AM EST FRI JAN 6 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... MODEL PREFERENCE: Global model consensus. Medium-high confidence. A cold front extending sw from the Ms Delta to ne Mexico will race se to a position from the Fl Panhandle to the Bay of Campeche late tonight and pass through the Fl Straits on Sat evening. Fresh to strong northerly winds currently west of the front will increase to strong to near gale later today...except for 30-40 kt conditions with seas building to a max of 18 ft across the sw gulf tonight through Sat. Winds and seas will gradually diminish and subside from the nw to se beginning late Sat. Expect ne to e winds to finally diminish to a fresh breeze across the Fl Straits on Tue night as a ridge extends from the Fl Big Bend to Tampico Mexico. The southerly return flow will increase to a strong breeze across the nw gulf waters briefly on Tue morning. ...CARIBBEAN SEA AND TROPICAL N ATLANTIC FROM 07N TO 19N BETWEEN55W AND 64W... MODEL PREFERENCE: Global model consensus. Medium-high confidence. Moderate to fresh trades forecast across the area except for strong to near gale force winds and seas to 11 ft within 240 nm of the nw coast of Venezuela and Colombia through Sun. A pre- frontal trough with a sw-w-nw wind shift expected in the Yucatan Channel on sat afternoon, followed by a cold front on Sat evening with strong to near gale n-ne winds, and 8-12 ft seas, spreading se across the nw Caribbean on Sat night. The cold front will reach from the Windward Passage to Honduras on Sun evening, and stall roughly from the Mona Passage to ne Nicaragua late Tue, with fresh to strong ne winds w of 67W. Fresh trades with seas to 8 ft expected across the tropical waters through Sun. ...SW N ATLANTIC INCLUDING THE BAHAMAS... MODEL PREFERENCE: Global model consensus. Medium-high confidence. A dissipating cold front extending from 30N65W to the central Bahamas will continue to weaken today. A strong cold front accompanied by a narrow band of TS will move off the Ga coast late tonight, reach from 31N73W to the Bahama Channel Sat evening, from Bermuda to ne Cuba early Sun, and from 31N55W to the Mona passage on Mon. Strong southerly winds will develop n of the Bahamas early tonight ahead of the front, and increase to strong to near gale force on Sat across the waters n of 29N within 300 nm e of the front. Strong to near gale force nw to n winds will follow the front, with the possibility of a gale warning for frequent gusts to gale force along the e Fl coast on Sat night. Winds and seas will diminish and subside from the nw to se beginning on Sun night, but persist across the ne and s- central portions through Tue night with seas to 13 ft reaching the Bahamas. $$ .WARNINGS...Any changes impacting coastal NWS offices will be coordinated through AWIPS II Collaboration Chat, or by telephone: .GULF OF MEXICO... .GMZ017...W CENTRAL GULF FROM 22N TO 26N W OF 94W... Gale Warning tonight into Sat. .GMZ023...SW GULF S OF 22N W OF 94W... Gale Warning tonight into Sat night. GALE CONDITIONS POSSIBLE Sat night. .CARIBBEAN SEA AND TROPICAL N ATLANTIC FROM 07N TO 19N BETWEEN 55W AND 64W... None. .SW N ATLANTIC INCLUDING THE BAHAMAS... None. $$ *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 Nelson. National Hurricane Center.