000 AGXX40 KNHC 021734 MIMATS Marine Weather Discussion NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL 1234 PM EST Thu Mar 2 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. High confidence. A cold front is moving across the Gulf waters, extending from north Florida to near Tuxpan Mexico this afternoon. Latest satellite derived winds and seas along with ship...buoy...and CMAN data depict winds reaching gale force winds west of the front south of 94W. Strong winds prevail elsewhere west of the front, with light to gentle winds prevailing east of the front. Seas are in the 6-9 ft range west of the front, 1-3 ft over the southeast Gulf, and 2-4 ft elsewhere. The front will continue across the Gulf waters, shifting southeast of the area Friday. Winds will increase to gale force over the southwest waters west of the front tonight before diminishing below gale force Saturday. High pressure will build in the wake of the front. Fresh to strong winds will prevail over the entire Gulf waters late Friday night. Winds will diminish slightly over the western waters Saturday, while the fresh to strong winds continue over the eastern waters through Monday. ...CARIBBEAN SEA AND TROPICAL N ATLANTIC FROM 07N TO 19N BETWEEN 55W AND 64W... MODEL PREFERENCE: Global model consensus. High confidence. High pressure prevails over the waters north of the area. Latest satellite derived winds and seas along with ship...buoy...and CMAN data depict strong to near gale winds off the coast of Colombia. Fresh to strong winds prevail elsewhere east of 80W, and gentle to moderate winds elsewhere. Seas are in the 9-12 ft range over the south central Caribbean, 8-10 ft elsewhere east of 80W, 3-4 ft over the far northwest Caribbean, and 6-8 ft over the remainder of the Caribbean. Fresh to strong winds and seas in the 8-9 ft range prevail over the tropical north Atlantic waters. Winds will continue to pulse to gale force off the coast of Colombia through Monday night. Winds will diminish over the eastern Caribbean and tropical north Atlantic this weekend when high pressure north of the area retreats eastward ahead of a cold front moving off the southeast coast of the United States. High pressure will build in the wake of the aforementioned cold front, which will increase winds over the western Caribbean waters late this weekend into early next week. ...SW N ATLANTIC INCLUDING THE BAHAMAS... MODEL PREFERENCE: Global model consensus. High confidence. A cold front has moved into the northwest waters as the high pressure that prevailed over the areas has started to retreat eastward. Latest satellite derived winds and seas along with ship...buoy...and CMAN data depict fresh to strong winds west of the front and within 60 nm east of the front. Gentle to moderate winds prevail elsewhere over the forecast waters. Seas are in the 6-7 ft range over the southern waters outside the Bahamas, 4-6 ft over the northern waters, and 1-3 ft west of the Bahamas. The cold front will move southeastward and extend from 28N65W through the central Bahamas to central Cuba by Friday night, then from 24N65W to eastern Cuba on Saturday night as a weakening front. High pressure will build in the wake of the front, with fresh to strong winds and seas reaching near 12 ft prevailing over much of the forecast waters Sunday. $$ .WARNINGS...Any changes impacting coastal NWS offices will be coordinated through AWIPS II Collaboration Chat, or by telephone: .GULF OF MEXICO... .GMZ017...W CENTRAL GULF FROM 22N TO 26N W OF 94W... Gale Warning today. .GMZ023...SW GULF S OF 22N W OF 94W... Gale Warning tonight. .CARIBBEAN SEA AND TROPICAL N ATLANTIC FROM 07N TO 19N BETWEEN 55W AND 64W... .AMZ031...CARIBBEAN FROM 11N TO 15N BETWEEN 72W AND 80W INCLUDING COLOMBIA BASIN... Gale Warning tonight into Fri night. GALE CONDITIONS POSSIBLE Fri night. GALE CONDITIONS POSSIBLE Sat night. GALE CONDITIONS POSSIBLE Sun night into Mon night. .AMZ039...SW CARIBBEAN S OF 11N INCLUDING APPROACHES TO PANAMA CANAL... Gale Warning Fri night. GALE CONDITIONS POSSIBLE Fri night. GALE CONDITIONS POSSIBLE Sun night. .SW N ATLANTIC INCLUDING THE BAHAMAS... None. $$ *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 AL. National Hurricane Center.