000 FZNT24 KNHC 172040 OFFNT4 OFFSHORE WATERS FORECAST FOR THE GULF OF MEXICO NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL 430 PM CDT SUN AUG 17 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. GMZ089-180330- SYNOPSIS FOR THE GULF OF MEXICO 430 PM CDT SUN AUG 17 2008 .SYNOPSIS...TROPICAL STORM FAY S OF CUBA NEAR 21.0N 80.2W 1003 MB AT 4 PM CDT MOVING WNW AT 13 KT. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS 45 KT GUSTS 55 KT. FAY WILL MOVE NW TO NEAR THE S CENTRAL COAST OF BY 22.3N 81.7W LATE TONIGHT...THEN EMERGE OVER THE LOWER STRAITS OF FL MON MORNING AND SLOWLY STRENGTHEN TO NEAR 23.8N 82.8W BY MON AFTERNOON. FAY IS FORECAST TO TURN AND STRENGTH TO A HURRICANE NEAR 25.3N 83.1W LATE MON NIGHT...AND MOVE TO NEAR 27.0N 83.2W TUE AFTERNOON THEN MOVE INLAND OVER THE FLORIDA BIG BEND WED MORNING. FAY WILL THEN WEAKEN TO A TROPICAL STORM OVER N CENTRAL FL AND SE GEORGIA LATE WED AND THU AND MOVE FURTHER N OF THE AREA FRI. ELSEWHERE...A WEAK STATIONARY FRONT OVER THE N GULF TODAY WILL BECOME DIFFUSE MON AS HIGH PRES OVER THE NE GULF SHIFTS TO THE NW GULF MON THROUGH THU. $$ GMZ080-180330- NW GULF N OF 25N W OF 90W INCLUDING FLOWER GARDEN BANKS NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARY 430 PM CDT SUN AUG 17 2008 .TONIGHT...S OF 28N S TO SW WINDS 10 KT...EXCEPT E TO SE 10 TO TO 15 KT W OF 95W. BECOMING SE TO S. N OF 28N VARIABLE WINDS MAINLY SE TO S 5 TO 10 KT. SEAS 2 TO 3 FT. HIGHER WINDS AND SEAS IN SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND TSTMS ENTIRE AREA. .MON AND MON NIGHT...S TO SW WINDS 5 TO 10 KT...EXCEPT 10 TO 15 KT S OF 28N W OF 95W BECOMING SE TO S MON NIGHT. SEAS 2 TO 4 FT. .TUE AND TUE NIGHT...S OF 28N W OF 93W SE TO S WINDS 10 TO 15 KT INCREASING TO 15 TO 20 KT. SEAS 2 TO 4 FT BUILDING TO 3 TO 5 FT. ELSEWHERE VARIABLE WINDS 5 TO 10 KT...BECOMING E TO SE TUE NIGHT. SEAS 1 TO 3 FT. .WED...E OF 93W SE TO S WINDS 10 TO 15 KT. SEAS 2 TO 3 FT. W OF 93W S TO SW WINDS 15 TO 20 KT. SEAS 4 TO 6 FT. SCATTERED TSTMS NEAR TEXAS COAST. .THU...S TO SW WINDS 10 TO 15 KT BECOMING SE TO S LATE. SEAS 2 TO 4 FT. .FRI...E OF 93W E TO SE WINDS 10 KT OR LESS. SEAS 2 TO 3 FT. W OF 93W SE TO S WINDS 10 TO 15 KT. SEAS 3 TO 5 FT. $$ GMZ082-180330- SW GULF S OF 25N W OF 90W 430 PM CDT SUN AUG 17 2008 .TONIGHT THROUGH THU...E TO SE WINDS 10 TO 15 KT...EXCEPT SE 15 TO 20 KT S OF 21N. SEAS 3 TO 5 FT. .FRI...E TO SE WINDS 15 TO 20 KT. SEAS BUILDING TO 4 TO 6 FT. $$ GMZ084-180330- MIDDLE GULF BETWEEN 85W AND 90W 430 PM CDT SUN AUG 17 2008 .TONIGHT...S OF 25N NE TO E WINDS 10 TO 15 KT INCREASING TO 15 TO 20 KT E OF 87W LATE TONIGHT. SEAS 2 TO 4 FT BUILDING TO 3 TO 5 FT E OF 87W. FROM 25N TO 27N VARIABLE WINDS 10 KT OR LESS. SEAS 1 TO 2 FT. N OF 27N SW TO W WINDS 10 KT OR LESS. SEAS 1 TO 2 FT. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND TSTMS N OF 27N. .MON AND MON NIGHT...S OF 27N E OF 87W N TO NE WINDS 15 TO 20 KT. SEAS 4 TO 7 FT. S OF 25N NE TO E WINDS BECOMING N TO NE. SEAS 2 TO 4 FT BUILDING TO 3 TO 5 FT. N OF 28N S TO SW WINDS 10 KT OR LESS BECOMING VARIABLE LATE. SEAS 2 FT OR LESS. ELSEWHERE VARIABLE WINDS 10 TO 15 KT. SEAS 1 TO 3 FT BUILDING TO 2 TO 4 FT. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND ISOLATED TSTMS N OF 28N. .TUE AND TUE NIGHT...N OF 25N E OF 87W NW TO N WINDS 15 TO 20 KT. SEAS 4 TO 7 FT. N OF 25N W OF 87W NW TO N WINDS 10 TO 15 KT. SEAS 2 TO 4 FT. S OF 25N VARIABLE MOSTLY E TO SE WINDS 10 TO 15 KT. SEAS 3 TO 5 FT SUBSIDING TO 2 TO 4 FT. SCATTERED TSTMS FAR E PART SPREADING N. .WED...N OF 26N E OF 86W W TO NW WINDS 15 TO 20 KT. SEAS 4 TO 6 FT. ELSEWHERE N OF 26N W TO NW WINDS 10 TO 15 KT EXCEPT 10 KT OR LESS W OF 87W. SEAS 2 TO 4 FT EXCEPT 1 TO 3 FT W OF 87W. S OF 25N SE TO S WINDS 10 TO 15 KT BECOMING E TO SE. SEAS 2 TO 4 FT. .THU AND FRI...N OF 28N SW TO W WINDS 10 KT OR LESS. SEAS 1 TO 2 FT. FROM 25N TO 28N SE TO S WINDS 10 KT OR LESS BECOMING NE TO E FRI. SEAS 2 FT OR LESS. S OF 25N E TO SE WINDS 10 TO 15 KT BECOMING NE TO E. SEAS 2 TO 4 FT. $$ GMZ086-180330- E GULF BETWEEN 81W AND 85W 430 PM CDT SUN AUG 17 2008 ...TROPICAL STORM WARNING S OF 26N E OF 84W... ...HURRICANE CONDITIONS EXPECTED N OF 26N TUE AND WED... .TONIGHT...TROPICAL STORM FORCE WITHIN 90 NM OF CENTER OF FAY...SPREADING INTO SOUTHERN STRAITS OF FLORIDA LATE. HIGHEST WINDS 45 KT GUSTS 55 KT INCREASING TO 50 KT GUSTS 60 KT S OF AREA. SEAS 12 FT OR GREATER IN AREA OF TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS. ELSEWHERE S OF 25N NE TO E WINDS 15 TO 20 KT EXCEPT INCREASING TO 20 TO 30 KT S OF 24N E OF 83W. SEAS 4 TO 7 FT BUILDING TO 5 TO 8 FT EXCEPT 5 TO 8 FT S OF 24N E OF 83W BUILDING TO 7 TO 11 FT. N OF 28N NW TO N WINDS 10 KT OR LESS BECOMING N TO NE 10 TO 15 KT. SEAS 1 TO 2 FT. FROM 25N TO 28N NE TO E WINDS 10 TO 15 KT INCREASING TO 15 TO 20 KT. NUMEROUS SQUALLS S OF 26N. .MON AND MON NIGHT...TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS WITHIN 100 NM N AND 45 NM S SEMICIRCLES OF FAY. HIGHEST WINDS 55 KT GUSTS 65 KT ...INCREASING TO 60 KT GUSTS 75 KT. SEAS 12 FT OR GREATER IN AREA OF TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS. HIGHEST SEAS 18 FT BUILDING TO 22 FT MON NIGHT. ELSEWHERE N TO NE WINDS 20 TO 33 KT EXCEPT NE TO E 10 TO 15 KT N OF 27N. SEAS 5 TO 8 FT BUILDING TO 8 TO 12 FT EXCEPT 1 TO 2 FT BUILDING TO 2 TO 4 FT N OF 28N. NUMEROUS SQUALLS. .TUE THROUGH WED...TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS WITHIN 100 NM NE QUADRANT...120 NM SE QUADRANT AND 60 NM S SEMICIRCLE OF FAY. HIGHEST WINDS INCREASING TO 70 KT GUSTS 85 KT...DIMINISHING TO 50 KT GUSTS TO 60 KT GUSTS BEFORE LANDFALL ON WED. SEAS 12 FT OR GREATER IN AREA OF TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS. HIGHEST SEAS TO 22 FT BUILDING TO 28 FT TUE NIGHT INTO EARLY WED. N OF 27N NE TO E WINDS 10 TO 15 KT...INCREASING TO 20 TO 33 KT TUE. SEAS 3 TO 5 FT...BUILDING 8 TO 12 FT TUE. ELSEWHERE SW TO W WINDS 20 TO 33 KT...DIMINISHING TO 10 TO 15 KT LATE WED. SEAS 8 TO 12 FT... SUBSIDING TO 4 TO 7 FT LATE WED...EXCEPT 3 TO 5 FT STRAITS OF FL NUMEROUS SQUALLS N OF 24N SPREADING N. .WED...N OF 27N WINDS 20 TO 33 KT DIMINISHING TO 20 TO 25 KT LATE EXCEPT 15 TO 20 KT S OF 28N. SEAS 8 TO 12 FT SUBSIDING TO 6 TO 9 FT LATE. FROM 25N TO 27N SW TO W WINDS 15 TO 20 KT DIMINISHING TO 10 TO 15 KT. SEAS 6 TO 10 FT SUBSIDING TO 3 TO 5 FT. S OF 25N SW WINDS 10 KT OR LESS BECOME E TO SE STRAITS OF FLORIDA LATE. SEAS 3 TO 5 FT SUBSIDING TO 1 TO 3 FT LATE. SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS FAR N OF 26N. .THU...N OF 27N SW TO W WINDS 10 TO 15 KT...DIMINISHING TO 5 TO 10 KT. SEAS 6 TO 9 FT...SUBSIDING TO 2 TO 4 FT LATE. S OF 27N S TO SW WINDS 5 TO 10 KT...BECOMING NE TO E LATE. SEAS 2 TO 4 FT ...SUBSIDING T 1 TO 2 FT LATE. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND TSTMS FAR NE PART LIFTING N OF AREA LATE. .FRI...NE TO E WINDS 10 KT...EXCEPT 10 TO 15 KT STRAITS OF FL. SEAS 1 TO 2 FT N OF 26N...AND 2 TO 4 FT S OF 26N. $$ FORECASTER KIMBERLAIN