000 FZNT24 KNHC 292107 OFFNT4 OFFSHORE WATERS FORECAST FOR THE GULF OF MEXICO NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL 330 PM CST TUE MAR 29 2005 OFFSHORE WATERS FORECAST FOR THE GULF OF MEXICO ...SEE STATEMENT AT THE END OF THIS PRODUCT REGARDING A SURVEY TO POSSIBLY REDUCE THE NUMBER OF FORECAST ZONES... GMZ089-300330- SYNOPSIS FOR THE GULF OF MEXICO 330 PM CST TUE MAR 29 2005 .SYNOPSIS...HIGH PRES CENTERED OVER THE E GULF WILL MOVE E OVER SOUTHERN FLORIDA TONIGHT AND WED...THEN MOVE INTO THE W ATLC WED NIGHT. SLY WINDS OVER THE W GULF WITH LIGHT AND VARIABLE WINDS OVER THE E GULF WILL CONTINUE TONIGHT...THEN BECOME SLY THROUGHOUT THE GULF WED INTO THU. A STRONG COLD FRONT WILL ENTER THE NW GULF LATE THU NIGHT INTO EARLY FRI...THEN MOVE RAPIDLY E REACHING FROM THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE TO THE YUCATAN PENINSULA LATE FRI. COLD FRONT WILL THEN MOVE E OF THE GULF LATER ON SAT. HIGH PRES WILL PREVAIL OVER THE GULF BY SUN. GALE FORCE WINDS ARE POSSIBLE IN THE NW AND SW GULF FRI. $$ GMZ080-300330- NW GULF N OF 25N W OF 90W INCLUDING FLOWER GARDEN BANKS NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARY 330 PM CST TUE MAR 29 2005 ...GALE CONDITIONS POSSIBLE FRI... .TONIGHT...W OF 93W WIND SE TO S 20 TO 25 KT. SEAS 6 TO 9 FT. E OF 93W WIND SE TO S 15 KT. SEAS 4 TO 5 FT. .WED AND WED NIGHT...WIND SE TO S 15 KT. SEAS BECOMING TO 4 TO 6 FT THROUGHOUT LATE. .THU AND THU NIGHT...WIND S TO SW 15 KT SHIFTING TO NW AND INCREASING TO 25 TO 30 KT W OF FRONT LATE THU NIGHT. SEAS 4 TO 5 FT...BUILDING TO 6 TO 9 FT NW OF FRONT LATE THU NIGHT. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND TSTMS ALONG FRONT THU NIGHT. .FRI...NW OF FRONT...WINDS INCREASING TO NW TO N 30 TO 35 KT... DECREASING TO 20 TO 25 KT FRI NIGHT. SEAS BUILDING TO 9 TO 13 FT. SE OF FRONT EARLY FRI...WIND S TO SW 15 TO 20 KT. SEAS 4 TO 6 FT. SCATTERED TSTMS SE WATERS EARLY. .SAT...WIND NW TO N 15 TO 20 KT DECREASING TO 10 TO 15 KT... EXCEPT WIND BECOMING VARIABLE 5 TO 10 KT ALONG THE TEXAS COAST. SEAS 7 TO 10 FT SUBSIDING TO 4 TO 7 FT...EXCEPT 2 TO 3 FT ALONG TEXAS COAST. .SUN...WINDS BECOMING SE 10 TO 15 KT. SEAS 2 TO 4 FT. $$ GMZ082-300330- SW GULF S OF 25N W OF 90W 0330 PM CST TUE MAR 29 2005 ...GALE CONDITIONS POSSIBLE FRI... .TONIGHT THROUGH WED NIGHT...WIND SE TO S 15 TO 20 KT. SEAS 4 TO 7 FT. .THU AND THU NIGHT...E OF 94W WIND SE TO S 15 TO 20 KT. SEAS 4 TO 6 FT. W OF 94W WIND SE TO S 10 TO 15 KT...SHIFTING TO N 25 TO 30 KT NW OF FRONT LATE THU NIGHT. SEAS 3 TO 5 FT BUILDING TO 7 TO 9 FT LATE THU NIGHT. WIDELY SCATTERED SHOWERS AND TSTMS ALONG FRONT. .FRI...NW OF FRONT WIND INCREASING TO NW TO N 30 TO 40 KT... THEN DECREASING 20 TO 25 KT LATE FRI NIGHT. SEAS BUILDING TO 10 TO 15 FT. SE OF FRONT WIND S TO SW 15 TO 20 KT. SEAS 6 TO 8 FT. WIDELY SCATTERED SHOWERS AND TSTMS ALONG FRONT. .SAT...WIND N 20 TO 25 KT...BECOMING N TO NE 15 KT LATE. SEAS 8 TO 12 FT...SUBSIDING TO 6 TO 9 FT LATE. .SUN...WIND NE TO E 10 TO 15 KT. SEAS 5 TO 7 FT IN RESIDUAL NW SWELL. $$ GMZ084-300330- MIDDLE GULF BETWEEN 85W AND 90W 330 PM CST TUE MAR 29 2005 .TONIGHT THROUGH WED NIGHT...WIND SE TO S 10 TO 15 KT. SEAS 3 TO 5 FT. .THU AND THU NIGHT...WIND SE TO S INCREASING TO 15 TO 20 KT. SEAS BUILDING 4 TO 6 FT. .FRI...WIND S TO SW 15 TO 20 KT...SHIFTING TO NW AND INCREASING TO 20 TO 30 KT W OF FRONT. SEAS 4 TO 6 FT...BUILDING TO 7 TO 9 FT LATE. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND TSTMS ALONG FRONT. .SAT...WIND NW TO N 20 TO 25 KT...DECREASING TO 15 KT N PART AND 15 TO 20 KT S PART LATE. SEAS 7 TO 10 FT...SUBSIDING TO 5 TO 8 FT LATE. .SUN...WIND BECOMING NE TO E 10 TO 15 KT. SEAS SUBSIDING TO 3 TO 6 FT. $$ GMZ086-300330- E GULF BETWEEN 81W AND 85W 330 PM CST TUE MAR 29 2005 .TONIGHT...S OF 26N WIND E TO SE 10 KT. SEAS 2 TO 3 FT. N OF 26N WIND VARIABLE 10 KT OR LESS. SEAS 2 FT. .WED THROUGH THU NIGHT...S OF 26N WIND E TO SE 10 TO 15 KT. SEAS 2 TO 4 FT. N OF 26N WIND SE TO S 10 KT. SEAS 2 TO 3 FT. .FRI...N OF 26N WIND S TO SW 15 TO 20 KT...INCREASING TO 20 KT THEN SHIFTING TO NW 20 TO 25 KT AND GUSTY W OF FRONT LATE FRI. SEAS 5 TO 7 FT...BUILDING TO 7 TO 9 FT W OF FRONT. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND TSTMS ALONG THE FRONT. .SAT...WIND NW TO N 20 TO 25 KT...BECOMING N TO NE 15 TO 20 KT LATE. SEAS 7 TO 10 FT...SUBSIDING TO 4 TO 7 FT N OF 28N LATE. .SUN...WIND NE 10 TO 15 KT. SEAS SUBSIDING TO 2 TO 4 FT LATE. $$ THE TROPICAL ANALYSIS AND FORECAST BRANCH OF THE TROPICAL PREDICTION CENTER/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER IS CONSIDERING REDUCING THE NUMBER OF MARINE ZONES FOR THIS PRODUCT. THE COVERAGE AREA WILL NOT BE REDUCED AND THE FORECAST WILL CONTINUE TO BE FOR FIVE DAYS. A SUMMARY OF THE PROPOSED CHANGES AND FOUR POSSIBLE EXAMPLES ARE POSTED AT THE FOLLOWING WEB ADDRESS: WWW.NHC.NOAA.GOV/NEWOFFORMAT.SHTML (USE LOWERCASE). THE EVALUATION PERIOD WILL END MARCH 31 2005. DURING THIS EVALUATION PERIOD WE ENCOURAGE YOUR COMMENTS OR SUGGESTIONS, SPECIFICALLY WHICH OF THE FOUR EXAMPLES YOU SUPPORT. YOU MAY ALSO SUGGEST OTHERS OR NO CHANGE AT ALL. A LINK TO A FEEDBACK FORM IS AVAILABLE ON THE WEB SITE GIVEN ABOVE. YOUR FEEDBACK WILL HELP US TO DETERMINE PRODUCT QUALITY...IF MODIFICATIONS ARE NEEDED...AND WHETHER THE PROPOSED CHANGES WILL BE ADOPTED. FORECASTER MCRANDAL/COBB