000 AXNT20 KNHC 242342 TWDAT TROPICAL WEATHER DISCUSSION NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL 805 PM EDT MON APR 24 2006 TROPICAL WEATHER DISCUSSION FOR NORTH AMERICA...CENTRAL AMERICA...THE GULF OF MEXICO...THE CARIBBEAN SEA...NORTHEASTERN SECTIONS OF SOUTH AMERICA...AND THE ATLANTIC OCEAN TO THE AFRICAN COAST FROM THE EQUATOR TO 32N. THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION IS BASED ON SATELLITE IMAGERY...WEATHER OBSERVATIONS... RADAR...AND METEOROLOGICAL ANALYSIS. BASED ON 1800 UTC SURFACE ANALYSIS AND SATELLITE IMAGERY THROUGH 2315 UTC. ...ITCZ... ITCZ AXIS IS CENTERED ALONG 6N10W 2N30W 3N22W 6N40W 3N51W. SCATTERED MODERATE AND ISOLATED STRONG CONVECTION IS NOTED WITHIN 90 NM EITHER SIDE OF AXIS BETWEEN 22W AND 31W AND WITHIN 90 NM EITHER SIDE OF LINE 4N33W 3N42W. ...DISCUSSION... GULF OF MEXICO... ALOFT...A SHORTWAVE RIDGE DOMINATES THE GULF OF MEXICO AND CONTINUES N ACROSS THE CENTRAL CONUS ROUGHLY ALONG 90W. IMMEDIATELY TO THE W...A SHORTWAVE TROUGH IS NOTED OVER OLD MEXICO AND SW TEXAS N OF 28N ALONG 105W. UPPER DIFFLUENCE ENHANCED CONVECTION OVER OLD MEXICO WITHIN 30 NM EITHER SIDE OF LINE 19N99W 30N102W. THE RESULTANT DEBRIS MOISTURE IS JUST BEGINNING TO SPREAD E TOWARDS THE W CENTRAL GULF WATERS. A MOISTURE PLUME FROM PREVIOUS CONVECTION IS NOTED WITHIN 120 NM EITHER SIDE OF LINE 22N95W 28N93W 30N86W AND INTO THE ATLC TO NEAR 28N76W. TO THE N OF THIS MOISTURE PLUME IS DRY AIR WHICH IS SPREADING OFF THE TEXAS AND MEXICO COASTS AHEAD OF THE NEWLY FORMED MOISTURE PLUMES. AT THE LOW LEVELS...A RIDGE EXTENDS W FROM THE ATLC ACROSS N FLORIDA TO THE SW LOUISIANA. THE REMNANTS OF YESTERDAYS WEAK FRONT STILL IS EVIDENT BY A FEW TOWERING CUMULUS WITHIN 15 NM EITHER SIDE OF LINE 28N83W 28N89W. CARIBBEAN SEA... ALOFT...A SHORTWAVE TROUGH EXTENDS SW ACROSS THE CENTRAL CARIBBEAN ALONG 18N68W 15N70W. A SHORTWAVE RIDGE EXTENDS NW ACROSS THE W CARIBBEAN FROM COLOMBIA THROUGH A WEAK ANTICYCLONE OVER THE GULF OF HONDURAS NEAR 16N84W AND CONTINUES NW ACROSS THE YUCATAN PENINSULA. THIN CIRRUS FROM CONVECTION OVER BELIZE IS SPREADING ENE OVER THE NW CARIBBEAN WITHIN 15 NM EITHER SIDE OF A LINE 18.5N87.5W 19N82W. A THICKER MOISTURE PLUME FROM INTENSE CONVECTION NEAR 9N82W IS OBSERVED S OF LINE 15N83W 18N63W. AFTERNOON CONVECTION WAS ENHANCED OVER JAMAICA...CUBA ...HISPANIOLA AND PUERTO RICO WITH THE DEBRIS MOISTURE SPREADING E INTO THE UPPER TROUGH. ATLANTIC OCEAN... A SHORTWAVE RIDGE EXTENDS ACROSS FLORIDA ALONG 26N80W INTO THE ATLC CRESTING NEAR 32N69W. TWO MOISTURE PLUMES...ONE FROM THE GULF OF MEXICO...AND ANOTHER MOVING E ACROSS THE TENNESSEE VALLEY...MERGE OVER THE SW ATLC NEAR NEAR 32N69W THEN SPILL SE ACROSS THE RIDGE TO NEAR 26N70W. IMMEDIATELY TO THE E...A SHORTWAVE TROUGH EXTENDS S INTO THE DISCUSSION AREA FROM 32N65W THROUGH A SMALL UPPER CYCLONE NEAR 28N64W WITH THE TROUGH CONTINUING S TO 18N67W. DRY UPPER AIR ACCOMPANIES THE TROUGH...COVERING THE AREA S OF 26N W OF 63W. TO THE E OF THE TROUGH...A BROAD UPPER RIDGE DOMINATES THE TROPICAL ATLC BETWEEN 56W AND 35W WITH THE UPPER FLOW MOSTLY ZONAL. MOISTURE PLUMES ARE STREAMING ENE ALONG LINE 15N61W TO 17N46W AND LINE 4N52W 10N40W. THE UPPER FLOW TURNS NE OVER THE SUBTROPICAL ATLC NEAR 28N42W...INTO THE PARENT UPPER TROUGH N OF AREA. AT THE LOW LEVELS...A COLD FRONT EXTENDS ACROSS THE NW ATLC WATERS FROM 32N38W 23N51W THEN STATIONARY TO 21N65W. OVERCAST MULTILAYERED CLOUDS AND SCATTERED SHOWERS NOTED WITHIN 60 NM OF THE FRONT. STILL FURTHER E...HIGH PRES NEAR 36N24W 1026 MB RIDGES SW ALONG 32N27W TO 26N40W. THE E ATLC IS DOMINATED ALOFT BY A LONGWAVE TROUGH WITH AN EMBEDDED CYCLONE NEAR 32N4W TRAILING A TROUGH SW ALONG 27N5W 22N11W 15N28W. A BAND OF DRY UPPER AIR IS NOTED WITHIN 75 NM EITHER SIDE OF LINE 30N2E 25N1W THEN THE DRY AIR WIDENS COVERING THE DISCUSSION AREA FROM 17N TO 28N BETWEEN 33W AND 15W. A BROAD UPPER ANTICYCLONE IS NOTED OVER AFRICA NEAR 13N17E WITH A RIDGE EXTENDING W OFF THE W AFRICAN COAST AT 7N12W. UPPER DIFFLUENCE IS ENHANCING ITCZ CONVECTION DESCRIBED ABOVE. $$ NELSON