000 FZNT24 KNHC 302110 OFFNT4 OFFSHORE WATERS FORECAST FOR THE GULF OF MEXICO NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL 330 PM CST WED MAR 30 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... GMZ089-310330- SYNOPSIS FOR THE GULF OF MEXICO 330 PM CST WED MAR 30 2005 .SYNOPSIS...A DEVELOPING TROUGH OVER W GULF TONIGHT INTO THU WILL BECOME BETTER DEFINED AS A HIGH PRES RIDGE OVER THE E GULF WEAKENS AND MOVES INTO THE W ATLC. THE TROUGH WILL DISSIPATE EARLY FRI...AS A STRONG COLD FRONT ENTERS THE NW GULF WATERS... REACHING FROM THE WESTERN FLORIDA PANHANDLE TO THE EASTERN BAY OF CAMPECHE LATE FRI. WINDS EXPECTED TO INCREASE TO GALE FORCE OVER PORTIONS OF THE NW AND SW GULF BEHIND THE FRONT. THE FRONT WILL EXTEND FROM FORT MEYERS TO THE NE YUCATAN PENINSULA EARLY SAT THEN MOVE SE OF THE AREA SAT AFTERNOON. HIGH PRES WILL BUILD OVER THE GULF BEHIND THE FRONT SAT THROUGH MON WITH DECREASING WINDS AND SEAS. $$ GMZ080-310330- NW GULF N OF 25N W OF 90W INCLUDING FLOWER GARDEN BANKS NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARY 330 PM CST WED MAR 30 2005 ...GALE CONDITIONS EXPECTED FRI S OF 27N W OF 94W... .TONIGHT AND THU...WIND SE TO S 10 TO 15 KT. SEAS 4 TO 5 FT. .THU NIGHT...WIND S TO SW 15 KT SHIFTING TO NW AND INCREASING TO 20 TO 25 KT W OF FRONT LATE. SEAS 4 TO 5 FT...BUILDING TO 5 TO 8 FT NW OF FRONT LATE. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND TSTMS DEVELOPING ALONG FRONT THU NIGHT. .FRI...S OF 27N W OF 94W WIND NW TO N 30 TO 35 KT. SEAS 9 TO 13 FT. ELSEWHERE NW OF FRONT WIND NW TO N 25 TO 30 KT. SEAS 7 TO 10 FT. SE OF FRONT EARLY FRI...WIND S TO SW 15 TO 20 KT. SEAS 4 TO 6 FT. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND TSTMS SE PART EARLY. .FRI NIGHT...WINDS DECREASING TO NW 20 TO 30 KT EARLY. SEAS 8 TO 11 FT. .SAT...WIND NW TO N 20 TO 25 KT EARLY...DECREASING TO 15 TO 20 KT DURING THE AFTERNOON...EXCEPT WIND BECOMING E TO SE 10 KT ALONG THE TEXAS COAST. SEAS 7 TO 10 FT...SUBSIDING TO 4 TO 7 FT...EXCEPT 2 TO 3 FT ALONG TEXAS COAST. .SUN...W OF 93W WIND BECOMING SE 10 TO 15 KT. SEAS 2 TO 3 FT. E OF 93W WIND NE TO E 10 TO 15 KT. SEAS 3 TO 5 FT. .MON...WIND E TO SE 10 TO 15 KT. SEAS 2 TO 4 FT. $$ GMZ082-310330- SW GULF S OF 25N W OF 90W 330 PM CST WED MAR 30 2005 ...GALE EXPECTED FRI AND FRI NIGHT W OF 93W... .TONIGHT AND THU...W OF 95W WIND VARIABLE 10 KT...BECOMING SE TO S 10 TO 15 KT THU. SEAS 3 TO 4 FT. E OF 95W WIND SE TO S 15 KT. SEAS 4 TO 5 FT. .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 20 TO 25 KT NW OF FRONT BY FRI MORNING. SEAS 3 TO 5 FT...BUILDING TO 5 TO 7 FT BY FRI MORNING. WIDELY SCATTERED SHOWERS AND TSTMS ALONG FRONT. .FRI...NW OF FRONT W OF 93W WIND NW TO N 30 TO 40 KT. SEAS BUILDING TO 10 TO 15 FT. NW OF FRONT E OF 93W WIND NW TO N 25 TO 30 KT. SEAS BUILDING 9 TO 13 FT. SE OF FRONT WIND S TO SW 15 KT. SEAS 4 TO 5 FT. WIDELY SCATTERED SHOWERS AND TSTMS ALONG FRONT. .FRI NIGHT...WIND NW TO N 30 TO 35 KT...DECREASING TO 20 TO 30 KT LATE. SEAS SUBSIDING TO 9 TO 13 FT. .SAT...WIND N 20 TO 25 KT...BECOMING N TO NE 15 TO 20 KT LATE. SEAS 9 TO 13 FT...SUBSIDING TO 7 TO 11 FT LATE. .SUN...WIND NE TO E 10 TO 15 KT. SEAS 5 TO 7 FT IN RESIDUAL N SWELL. .MON...WIND BECOMING E TO SE 10 TO 15 KT. SEAS SUBSIDING TO 2 TO 4 FT. $$ GMZ084-310330- MIDDLE GULF BETWEEN 85W AND 90W 330 PM CST WED MAR 30 2005 .TONIGHT...WIND SE TO S 15 KT. SEAS 2 TO 4 FT. .THU AND THU NIGHT...WIND SE TO S 15 KT INCREASING TO 15 TO 20 KT THU NIGHT. SEAS BUILDING TO 4 TO 6 FT. WIDELY SCATTERED SHOWERS NW PART THU NIGHT. .FRI...WIND S TO SW 15 TO 20 KT...SHIFTING TO NW AND INCREASING TO 20 TO 30 KT W OF FRONT BY LATE AFTERNOON. SEAS 4 TO 6 FT... BUILDING TO 7 TO 9 FT LATE. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND TSTMS ALONG FRONT. .FRI NIGHT...WIND NW TO N 20 TO 25 KT. SEAS 7 TO 10 FT... SUBSIDING TO 5 TO 8 FT LATE. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND TSTMS ALONG THE FRONT. .SAT...WIND DECREASING TO N 15 TO 20 KT. SEAS 7 TO 10 FT... SUBSIDING TO 5 TO 8 FT LATE. .SUN...S OF 25N WIND NE 15 KT. SEAS 5 TO 7 FT. N OF 25N WIND NE TO E 10 TO 15 KT. SEAS 3 TO 4 FT. .MON...WIND E TO NE 10 TO 15 KT. SEAS 3 TO 4 FT. $$ GMZ086-310330- E GULF BETWEEN 81W AND 85W 330 PM CST WED MAR 30 2005 .TONIGHT THROUGH THU...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 1 TO 2 FT. .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 15 KT. SEAS BUILDING TO 3 TO 5 FT. .FRI...N OF 26N WIND S TO SW 15 TO 20 KT...SHIFTING TO NW 20 TO 25 KT W OF THE FRONT LATE. SEAS 4 TO 6 FT...BUILDING TO 6 TO 8 FT W OF FRONT LATE. S OF 26N WIND SE TO S 10 TO 15 KT. SEAS 3 TO 4 FT. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND TSTMS ALONG THE FRONT. .FRI NIGHT...WIND NW 20 TO 30 KT AND GUSTY. SEAS 7 TO 9 FT. WIDELY SCATTERED SHOWERS OR TSTMS E OF FRONT WITH SCATTERED SHOWERS EARLY W OF FRONT. .SAT...NW OF FRONT WIND NW TO N 20 TO 25 KT AND GUSTY. SEAS 7 TO 10 FT. SE OF FRONT EARLY WIND SW 15 KT. SEAS 3 TO 5 FT. WIDELY SCATTERED SHOWERS OR TSTMS SE PART EARLY. .SUN...N OF 26N WIND NE 15 TO 20 KT...DECREASING TO 10 TO 15 KT BY AFTERNOON. SEAS 4 TO 7 FT SUBSIDING 3 TO 5 FT LATE. S OF 26N WIND NE 15 TO 20 KT. SEAS 5 TO 8 FT. .MON...WIND BECOMING E 10 TO 15 KT...EXCEPT TO 20 KT FLORIDA STRAITS. SEAS 3 TO 6 FT....LOCALLY 8 FT FLORIDA STRAITS. $$ 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