000 AGXX40 KNHC 201647 MIMATS Marine Weather Discussion NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL 1147 AM EST Fri Jan 20 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 to High confidence. High pressure prevails across the area. Latest satellite derived winds and seas along with ship, buoy, and CMAN data depict gentle to moderate southerly return flow across the basin. Seas are in the 1-3 ft range over the southeast Gulf, 2-4 ft over the northeast Gulf, and 2-4 ft elsewhere. A strong cold front is forecast to push across the Gulf waters during the upcoming weekend. The front will enter the northwestern Gulf Saturday night, reaching from southeast Louisiana to near Tampico Mexico by Sunday morning, and from the Florida Big Bend to the Yucatan Peninsula by Sunday evening. A band of showers and thunderstorms will likely accompany the front. This front will bring a significant increase in winds and seas across the Gulf waters. Strong to gale force winds are possible behind the front Sunday through Monday across the northern and central Gulf, possibly spilling into the southeast Gulf. A large area of seas building up to 16-19 ft is expected behind the front. Conditions will gradually improve from west to east Monday night through Tuesday night as high pressure builds in the wake of the front. ...CARIBBEAN SEA AND TROPICAL N ATLANTIC FROM 07N TO 19N BETWEEN 55W AND 64W... MODEL PREFERENCE: Global model consensus. High confidence. High pressure prevails north of the forecast waters. Latest satellite derived winds and seas along with ship, buoy, and CMAN data depict fresh to locally strong winds just offshore of the northwest coast of Colombia, gentle to moderate winds over the remainder of the central Caribbean, gentle winds over the eastern and western Caribbean, and light to gentle winds over the tropical north Atlantic waters. Seas are in the 6-8 ft off the coast of Colombia, 4-6 ft over the remainder of the south central Caribbean, 3-4 ft over the remainder of the Caribbean waters, and 4-5 ft over the tropical north Atlantic waters. The area of high pressure will weaken over the next couple of days, which will bring a decrease in trades across the Caribbean. During the upcoming weekend, southeast to south winds are expected to increase across the western Caribbean and the Yucatan Channel ahead of a cold front moving across the Gulf of Mexico. This front is currently forecast to reach the Yucatan Channel and the northwest Caribbean Sunday night, accompanied by strong winds and building seas. The front will reach from the Windward Passage to the eastern coast of Nicaragua Monday night, with strong southwest winds expected near the Windward Passage just ahead of the front. Over the tropical north Atlantic waters, expect mainly gentle to moderate trade winds and seas of 4-6 ft to continue through the period. ...SW N ATLANTIC INCLUDING THE BAHAMAS... MODEL PREFERENCE: Global model consensus. High confidence. The tail end of a cold front extends across the southeast portion of the forecast area with high pressure located over the central Bahamas. Latest satellite derived winds and seas along with ship, buoy, and CMAN data depict gentle to moderate winds over the far northwest waters with mainly light to gentle winds elsewhere. Seas are in the 6-8 ft range over the northeast waters, 3-6 ft over the southeast waters, 3-5 ft elsewhere outside the Bahamas, and 1-2 ft west of the Bahamas. High pressure over the central Bahamas will shift east this weekend as a strong cold front approaches the western portion of the area. Southerly winds will increase to 20-30 kt across the northwest part of the forecast area on Sunday ahead of the cold front, increasing to gale force Sunday night. The cold front will move off the southeast coast of the United States late Sunday night, with strong to gale force winds spreading eastward both ahead of and behind the front. Seas will build to 15-18 ft across a large portion of the forecast waters through early next week. $$ .WARNINGS...Any changes impacting coastal NWS offices will be coordinated through AWIPS II Collaboration Chat, or by telephone: .GULF OF MEXICO... .GMZ011...NW GULF INCLUDING STETSON BANK... GALE CONDITIONS POSSIBLE Sun into Sun night. .GMZ013...N CENTRAL GULF INCLUDING FLOWER GARDEN BANKS MARINE SANCTUARY... GALE CONDITIONS POSSIBLE Sun into Mon. .GMZ015...NE GULF N OF 25N E OF 87W... GALE CONDITIONS POSSIBLE Sun into Mon. .GMZ017...W CENTRAL GULF FROM 22N TO 26N W OF 94W... GALE CONDITIONS POSSIBLE Sun into Sun night. .GMZ019...CENTRAL GULF FROM 22N TO 26N BETWEEN 87W AND 94W... GALE CONDITIONS POSSIBLE Sun into Sun night. .CARIBBEAN SEA AND TROPICAL N ATLANTIC FROM 07N TO 19N BETWEEN 55W AND 64W... None. .SW N ATLANTIC INCLUDING THE BAHAMAS... .AMZ111...ATLANTIC FROM 27N TO 31N W OF 77W... GALE CONDITIONS POSSIBLE Sun night into Mon night. .AMZ113...ATLANTIC FROM 27N TO 31N BETWEEN 70W AND 77W... GALE CONDITIONS POSSIBLE Sun night into Mon night. .AMZ115...ATLANTIC FROM 27N TO 31N BETWEEN 65W AND 70W... GALE CONDITIONS POSSIBLE Mon night. .AMZ117...BAHAMAS INCLUDING CAY SAL BANK... GALE CONDITIONS POSSIBLE Sun night into Mon night. .AMZ119...ATLANTIC FROM 22N TO 27N E OF BAHAMAS TO 70W... GALE CONDITIONS POSSIBLE Mon into Mon night. $$ *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 AL. National Hurricane Center.