000 AXNT20 KNHC 071045 TWDAT TROPICAL WEATHER DISCUSSION NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL 805 AM EDT TUE APR 07 2009 TROPICAL WEATHER DISCUSSION FOR NORTH AMERICA...CENTRAL AMERICA...GULF OF MEXICO...CARIBBEAN SEA...NORTHERN SECTIONS OF SOUTH AMERICA...AND ATLANTIC OCEAN TO THE AFRICAN COAST FROM THE EQUATOR TO 32N. THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION IS BASED ON SATELLITE IMAGERY...METEOROLOGICAL ANALYSIS...WEATHER OBSERVATIONS...AND RADAR. BASED ON 0600 UTC SURFACE ANALYSIS AND SATELLITE IMAGERY THROUGH 1015 UTC. ...THE ITCZ... ITCZ AXIS IS CENTERED ALONG 5N9W 2N20W CROSSING THE EQUATOR NEAR 25W EXTENDING TO NE BRAZIL NEAR 4S39W. SCATTERED MODERATE CONVECTION IS WITHIN 60 NM OF THE AXIS E OF 12W AND S OF 2N BETWEEN 20W-25W. ...DISCUSSION... THE GULF OF MEXICO... A STRONG COLD FRONT HAS NEARLY CROSSED THE ENTIRE AREA EXTENDING FROM EXTREME SOUTH FLORIDA TO THE NE YUCATAN PENINSULA. LOW-MID LEVEL CLOUDINESS AND ISOLATED SHOWERS ARE WITHIN 90 NM OF THE FRONT. W OF THE FRONT...N TO NW 20-30 KT WINDS COVER THE MAJORITY OF THE AREA...STRONGEST OVER THE SW WATERS WHERE LOCAL TOPOGRAPHY PROVIDES AN ENHANCEMENT. THESE WINDS ARE PRODUCING COMBINED SEAS UP TO 13 FT...HIGHEST OVER THE SRN WATERS DUE TO THE LONGER FETCH. HIGH PRES WILL BUILD FROM W TO E OVER THE N GULF WATERS TODAY AND WED...WHICH WILL ALLOW WINDS TO QUICKLY DIMINISH AND MODIFY THE RELATIVELY COOL AIRMASS. THE CARIBBEAN SEA... THE SAME FRONT MENTIONED ABOVE IS MOVING INTO THE YUCATAN CHANNEL. OVERALL LITTLE EFFECTS ARE OCCURRING OVER THAT AREA AT THE MOMENT...BUT N WINDS WILL INCREASE SHORTLY BEHIND THE BOUNDARY. THE INCREASE IN WINDS COUPLED WITH N-NW SWELL FROM THE GULF OF MEXICO WILL ELEVATE SEAS UP TO 11 FT OVER THE NW CARIBBEAN LATER TODAY. ELSEWHERE...THE WEAK LOW-LEVEL TROUGH THAT HAS BEEN MOVING W ACROSS THE NE CARIBBEAN DURING THE PAST FEW DAYS HAS DISSIPATED OVER HISPANIOLA. FAIR CONDITIONS DOMINATE THE REGION ENHANCED BY A STRONGLY SUBSIDENT ENVIRONMENT...BETWEEN AN AMPLIFIED UPPER RIDGE OVER THE TROPICAL EPAC AND TROUGHING OVER THE CENTRAL ATLC. THE TRADE WIND FLOW IS FAIRLY RELAXED DUE TO THE PRESENCE OF THE FRONT N AND W OF THE REGION. 20+ KT WINDS ARE CONFINED TO NEAR THE COAST OF COLOMBIA. THE ATLANTIC OCEAN... SCATTERED SHOWERS AND TSTMS ARE OCCURRING N OF 28N BETWEEN 70W AND 75W ASSOCIATED WITH LOW-LEVEL CONVERGENCE ALONG A STRONG COLD FRONT FROM 32N71W TO THE FLORIDA KEYS AND UPPER DIFFLUENCE E OF AN UPPER JET. SW WINDS AHEAD OF THE FRONT ARE BLOWING TO GALE FORCE WITH WINDS JUST BELOW THAT WITHIN THE COLD SECTOR. MULTILAYER CLOUDINESS AND EMBEDDED ISOLATED SHOWERS/TSTMS ARE FROM 21N-25N BETWEEN 47W-53W ASSOCIATED WITH INSTABILITY WITHIN AN MID-UPPER TROUGH. THE FLOW ALOFT IS MAINLY ZONAL ACROSS THE SUBTROPICAL E ATLC SUPPORTING FAIR WEATHER. OVER THE TROPICS...A SPRAWLING UPPER HIGH CENTERED NEAR 10N18W IS ENHANCING CONVECTION WITHIN THE ITCZ. $$ CANGIALOSI