000 FZNT24 KNHC 290850 OFFNT4 OFFSHORE WATERS FORECAST FOR THE GULF OF MEXICO NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL 330 AM CST FRI FEB 29 2008 OFFSHORE WATERS FORECAST FOR THE GULF OF MEXICO SEAS GIVEN AS SIGNIFICANT WAVE HEIGHT...WHICH IS THE AVERAGE HEIGHT OF THE HIGHEST 1/3 OF THE WAVES. INDIVIDUAL WAVES MAY BE MORE THAN TWICE THE SIGNIFICANT WAVE HEIGHT. GMZ089-291530- SYNOPSIS FOR THE GULF OF MEXICO 330 AM CST FRI FEB 29 2008 .SYNOPSIS...STRONG RETURN FLOW OFF THE TEXAS AND MEXICO COAST WILL DIMINISH TODAY AS RIDGING WEAKENS OVER THE SE UNITED STATES. THE RIDGE AXIS WILL REMAIN POSITIONED NEAR THE N GULF COAST THROUGH SUN. RETURN FLOW ONCE AGAIN RESTRENGTHENS OFF TEXAS ON SUN AHEAD OF A COLD FRONT WHICH IS EXPECTED TO MOVE OFF THE COAST MON. GALE CONDITIONS WILL DEVELOP BEHIND THE FRONT OVER THE WESTERN GULF ON MON THEN SPREAD TO THE MIDDLE GULF ON TUE WITH THE FRONT REACHING FROM FLORIDA TO THE YUCATAN PENINSULA. $$ GMZ080-291530- NW GULF N OF 25N W OF 90W INCLUDING FLOWER GARDEN BANKS NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARY 330 AM CST FRI FEB 29 2008 ...GALE CONDITIONS EXPECTED MON... .TODAY...W OF 94W S WINDS 20 TO 25 KT EARLY BECOMING SE 10 TO 15 KT BY EVENING. SEAS 6 TO 9 FT SUBSIDING TO 5 TO 7 FT. E OF 94W SE TO S WINDS 15 TO 20 KT EARLY DIMINISHING TO 10 TO 15 KT. SEAS 4 TO 6 FT. .TONIGHT THROUGH SAT NIGHT...E TO SE WINDS 10 TO 15 KT. SEAS 4 TO 6 FT. .SUN...SE TO S WINDS 15 TO 20 KT INCREASING TO 20 TO 25 KT. SEAS 4 TO 6 FT BUILDING TO 7 TO 10 FT LATE. .MON...S WINDS 20 TO 25 KT BECOMING NW TO N 30 TO 40 KT BEHIND FRONT. SEAS 7 TO 9 FT BUILDING TO 9 TO 14 FT. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND TSTMS E OF FRONT. .TUE...NW TO N WINDS 20 TO 30 KT EARLY DIMINISHING TO 10 TO 15 KT THEN BECOMING VARIABLE 5 TO 10 KT LATE. SEAS 10 TO 15 FT IN NW SWELL SUBSIDING TO 4 TO 7 FT LATE. $$ GMZ082-291530- SW GULF S OF 25N W OF 90W 330 AM CST FRI FEB 29 2008 ...GALE CONDITIONS EXPECTED MON THROUGH EARLY TUE... .TODAY...N OF 23N W OF 95W SE TO S WINDS 20 TO 25 KT EARLY DIMINISHING TO 15 TO 20 KT. SEAS 6 TO 9 FT SUBSIDING TO 5 TO 7 FT. ELSEWHERE E TO SE WINDS 15 TO 20 KT. SEAS 4 TO 6 FT. .TONIGHT...E TO SE WINDS 15 TO 20 KT. SEAS 5 TO 7 FT N OF 21N AND 3 TO 5 FT S OF 21N. .SAT AND SAT NIGHT...E TO SE WINDS 10 TO 15 KT. SEAS 4 TO 6 FT. .SUN...N OF 22N SE TO S WINDS 15 TO 20 KT INCREASING TO 20 TO 25 KT. SEAS 4 TO 6 FT BUILDING TO 6 TO 9 FT. S OF 22N SE WINDS 10 TO 15 KT INCREASING TO 15 TO 20 KT. SEAS 3 TO 5 FT. .MON...N OF 21N S WINDS 20 TO 25 KT DIMINISHING TO 10 TO 15 KT...THEN BECOMING NW TO N 30 TO 40 KT BEHIND FRONT. SEAS 6 TO 9 FT BUILDING TO 9 TO 14 FT. S OF 21N SE TO S WINDS 15 TO 20 KT EARLY BECOMING VARIABLE 5 TO 10 KT. SEAS 3 TO 5 FT. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND ISOLATED TSTMS E OF FRONT. .TUE...S OF 22N N WINDS 25 TO 35 KT EARLY DIMINISHING TO 10 TO 15 KT. SEAS 9 TO 14 FT. N OF 22N N WINDS 20 TO 30 KT EARLY BECOMING NE TO E 10 TO 15 KT. SEAS 9 TO 14 FT IN N SWELL SUBSIDING TO 6 TO 10 FT. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND ISOLATED TSTMS E OF FRONT. $$ GMZ084-291530- MIDDLE GULF BETWEEN 85W AND 90W 330 AM CST FRI FEB 29 2008 ...GALE CONDITIONS EXPECTED N OF 25N LATE MON AND EARLY TUE... .TODAY AND TONIGHT...S OF 25N E WINDS 15 TO 20 KT. SEAS 4 TO 6 FT. N OF 25N E TO SE WINDS 10 TO 15 KT. SEAS 3 TO 4 FT. .SAT AND SAT NIGHT...S OF 25N E WINDS 15 TO 20 KT. SEAS 5 TO 7 FT. N OF 25N NE TO E WINDS 10 TO 15 KT. SEAS 3 TO 5 FT. .SUN...E TO SE WINDS 15 TO 20 KT. SEAS 5 TO 8 FT S OF 26N AND 3 TO 5 FT N OF 26N. .MON...N OF 25N S WINDS 20 TO 25 KT BECOMING NW 25 TO 35 KT BEHIND FRONT LATE. SEAS 6 TO 9 FT. S OF 25N SE TO S WINDS 15 TO 20 KT. SEAS 5 TO 8 FT. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND TSTMS E OF FRONT LATE. .TUE...N OF 25N W OF FRONT W TO NW WINDS 25 TO 35 KT EARLY DIMINISHING TO 15 TO 20 KT. SEAS 9 TO 14 FT. N OF 25N E OF FRONT SW WINDS 15 TO 20 KT. SEAS 6 TO 9 FT. S OF 25N S TO SW WINDS 15 TO 20 KT BECOMING NW TO N 20 TO 25 KT BEHIND FRONT. SEAS BUILDING TO 8 TO 13 FT IN NW SWELL. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND TSTMS E OF FRONT. $$ GMZ086-291530- E GULF BETWEEN 81W AND 85W 330 AM CST FRI FEB 29 2008 .TODAY AND TONIGHT...S OF 25N E WINDS 15 TO 20 KT. SEAS 5 TO 8 FT. N OF 25N E WIND 10 TO 15 KT. SEAS 2 TO 4 FT. .SAT AND SAT NIGHT...S OF 25N NE WINDS 15 TO 20 KT. SEAS 5 TO 7 FT. N OF 25N NE WINDS 10 TO 15 KT. SEAS 2 TO 4 FT. .SUN...E TO SE WINDS 15 TO 20 KT. SEAS 5 TO 8 FT S OF 25N AND 3 TO 5 FT N OF 25N. .MON...SE TO S WINDS 15 TO 20 KT INCREASING TO 20 TO 25 KT N OF 26N LATE. SEAS 5 TO 8 FT. SCATTERED SHOWERS. .TUE...N OF 26N S TO SW WINDS 20 TO 25 KT SHIFTING W TO NW BEHIND FRONT THEN DIMINISHING TO 10 TO 15 KT LATE. SEAS BUILDING TO 8 TO 12 FT IN W SWELL. S OF 26N S TO SW WINDS 15 TO 20 KT SHIFTING W TO NW BEHIND FRONT THEN DIMINISHING TO 10 KT LATE. SEAS 4 TO 6 FT BUILDING TO 7 TO 11 FT IN NW SWELL. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND TSTMS E OF FRONT. $$ FORECASTER BERG