000 AGXX40 KNHC 060758 MIMATS Marine Weather Discussion NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL 258 AM EST Sat Jan 6 2018 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... High pressure north of the region will build southeastward toward the mid Atlantic United States on Sunday, and then over the Western Atlantic into early next week. In response to this shift, gentle to moderate northeast to east winds currently over the Gulf will gradually become east to southeast while increasing to moderate to fresh later this evening. Later tonight, winds over the SE Gulf are expected to range from 20 to 25 kt. Seas will build from the current 2 to 4 ft to 5 to 7 ft over the eastern Gulf in response to these winds on Sunday. The area of strong winds will spread to the NW, around an area of low pressure that is expected to develop over the north central Gulf Sunday afternoon. This low will track slowly east then southeast over the eastern Gulf early next week, dragging a cold front over the western and central Gulf Monday through Tuesday. The low and associated cold front will weaken Monday night into Tuesday with winds diminishing below 20 kt by Monday night. ...CARIBBEAN SEA AND TROPICAL N ATLANTIC FROM 07N TO 19N BETWEEN 55W AND 64W... The southern portion of a stationary front from SW Haiti to 10N80W near Panama will weaken gradually during the next couple of days. Strong to near gale force NE winds will continue to the NW of the front today. As high pressure over the central U.S. builds SE towards the mid Atlantic coast, the pressure gradient will tighten further to the NW of the front. This will cause gale force winds to occur between Jamaica and Cuba tonight, then the Windward Passage Sunday afternoon into Sunday night. Seas will peak around 13 ft during this gale event. During this same time period, mainly fresh trades will be occurring elsewhere over the Caribbean, except pulsing briefly to strong at night near the NE coast of Colombia. The high will shift east over the Atlantic waters Monday and Tuesday which will allow the remainder of the stationary front to dissipate and the winds to gradually diminish over the western Caribbean. As the high becomes centered over the Atlantic, winds will increase slightly over the central and Eastern Caribbean with occasionally strong trades and seas to 9 ft over these waters Monday through Tuesday. The high will move farther east by Tuesday night, allowing for winds to decrease to under 20 kt over the Central and Eastern Caribbean for the mid week time period. Over the Atlantic waters, fresh to occasionally strong trades will support 8 to 12 ft seas over the majority of the waters including the Atlantic Passages through Tuesday, before the trades decrease to around 15 kt and seas to around 8 ft mid week. ...SW N ATLANTIC INCLUDING THE BAHAMAS... A stationary front over the northern waters from 31N67W to 30N73W will weaken today. A stationary front over the southern waters from 24N65W to 20N71W will meander over this area the next few days. Strong NW winds north of the northern front will lift north of 31N today. Strong NE winds within about 120 nm NW of the southern front will continue today. Large swell continues to linger NE of the Bahamas from the departed storm system from a couple of days ago. Strong high pressure building SE toward the mid Atlantic United States will tighten the pressure gradient NW of the southern stationary front tonight through Sunday night. This will cause the strong winds to expand northwestward to include the Straits of FLorida, Bahamas and Atlantic waters S of 28N. These winds will help to reinforce the large swell outside of the Bahamas. Winds will increase to gale force between the Turks and Caicos islands and through the Windward Passage late on Sunday, when the pressure gradient is the tightest over the area. Seas may reach as high as 12 ft in the approach to the Windward Passage late Sunday through early Monday. The winds and seas over the region will gradually diminish Monday through Tuesday as the high shifts east and weakens. A weak cold front will move off the north Florida coast Tuesday night. Fresh to strong easterly winds are possible north of this front. $$ .WARNINGS...Any changes impacting coastal NWS offices will be coordinated through AWIPS II Collaboration Chat, or by telephone: .GULF OF MEXICO... None. .CARIBBEAN SEA AND TROPICAL N ATLANTIC FROM 07N TO 19N BETWEEN 55W AND 64W... .AMZ013...CARIBBEAN N OF 18N BETWEEN 76W AND 85W INCLUDING CAYMAN BASIN... Gale Warning Sun. .AMZ015...CARIBBEAN APPROACHES TO THE WINDWARD PASSAGE... Gale Warning Sun night. .SW N ATLANTIC INCLUDING THE BAHAMAS... .AMZ123...ATLANTIC S OF 22N W OF 70W INCLUDING APPROACHES TO THE WINDWARD PASSAGE... Gale Warning Sun into Sun night. $$ *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 Latto. National Hurricane Center.