000 AXNT20 KNHC 061756 TWDAT TROPICAL WEATHER DISCUSSION NWS NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL 205 PM EDT SAT OCT 06 2012 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...WEATHER OBSERVATIONS...RADAR...AND METEOROLOGICAL ANALYSIS. BASED ON 1200 UTC SURFACE ANALYSIS AND SATELLITE IMAGERY THROUGH 1715 UTC. ...TROPICAL WAVES... TROPICAL WAVE EXTENDS FROM 09N24W TO 17N26W MOVING W AT 10-15 KT. THE WAVE IS EMBEDDED WITHIN A LOW-LEVEL MONSOON GYRE CENTERED AT THE SOUTHERN EXTENT OF THE WAVE AXIS NEAR 09N24W AND ALSO COINCIDES WITH BROAD 700 MB TROUGHING BETWEEN 20W-30W IN AN AREA WEST OF THE CAPE VERDE ISLANDS. WHILE MOST DEEP CONVECTION IS S OF 10N ASSOCIATED WITH THE MONSOON TROUGH...ISOLATED MODERATE CONVECTION IS FROM 11N-14N BETWEEN 24W-28W. TROPICAL WAVE EXTENDS FROM 12N68W TO 18N67W MOVING W AT 10-15 KT. THE WAVE IS LARGELY AN EXTENSION OF LOW-LEVEL TROUGHING FROM A 1008 MB SURFACE LOW CENTERED NORTH OF THE MONA PASSAGE NEAR 22N67W COMBINED WITH ENERGY THAT HAS ROTATED AROUND THE PERIPHERY OF A MID-LEVEL RIDGE ANCHORED OVER THE SW NORTH ATLC DURING THE PAST WEEK. NO SIGNIFICANT CONVECTION IS NOTED ON SATELLITE IMAGERY AT THIS TIME. TROPICAL WAVE EXTENDS FROM 11N77W TO 18N80W MOVING W AT 10-15 KT. THE WAVE IS EMBEDDED WITHIN AN AREA OF DEEP LAYER MOISTURE ACROSS THE SW CARIBBEAN SEA PRIMARILY S OF 14N BETWEEN 75W-83W AS NOTED ON TOTAL PRECIPITABLE WATER IMAGERY. SCATTERED MODERATE CONVECTION IS FROM 10N-14N BETWEEN 77W-83W. ...ITCZ/MONSOON TROUGH... THE MONSOON TROUGH EXTENDS FROM THE AFRICAN COAST NEAR 07N12W TO 05N18W TO 09N24W TO 11N34W TO 09N40W. WIDELY SCATTERED MODERATE CONVECTION IS FROM 02N-05N BETWEEN 07W-18W...AND FROM 07N-11N BETWEEN 33W-40W. SCATTERED MODERATE CONVECTION IS FROM 04N-11N BETWEEN 22W-31W. ...DISCUSSION... GULF OF MEXICO... BROAD MIDDLE TO UPPER LEVEL TROUGHING IS NOTED ON WATER VAPOR IMAGERY OVER MUCH OF THE CENTRAL AND EASTERN CONUS WITH A VERY WEAK TROUGH AXIS EXTENDING FROM OVER THE EASTERN SEABOARD NEAR 33N79W SOUTHWESTWARD TO OVER THE WESTERN GULF NEAR 25N93W. WEST TO SOUTHWESTERLY FLOW ALOFT DOMINATES WITH MOISTURE ADVECTING FROM THE SW GULF NORTHEASTWARD OVER THE EASTERN GULF...FLORIDA PENINSULA...AND INTO THE SW NORTH ATLC. WHILE NO DISTINCT SURFACE FEATURE OR FRONT IS PRESENT...WIDELY SCATTERED SHOWERS AND ISOLATED TSTMS ARE OCCURRING WITHIN 150 NM EITHER SIDE OF A LINE FROM 18N95W TO 28N81W MAINLY DUE TO SUFFICIENT MIDDLE TO UPPER LEVEL LIFT. WELL TO THE NORTHWEST OF THIS MOISTURE...A COLD FRONT IS ANALYZED FROM THE APPALACHIANS TO SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI AND TO THE TEXAS GULF COAST NEAR GALVESTON. THE FRONT LACKS ANY SIGNIFICANT MOISTURE AND PRECIPITATION AS A DRIER AIRMASS FOLLOWS ALONG WITH A STRONGER SURFACE RIDGE. THE RIDGING IS FORECAST TO BUILD IN ACROSS MUCH OF THE GULF THROUGH MONDAY. AS A RESULT...NORTHEASTERLY WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO PREVAIL FOR THE DURATION OF THE WEEKEND WITH AREAS OF 15 TO 20 KT EXPECTED OVER THE NW GULF WITH THE PASSAGE OF THE FRONT. CARIBBEAN SEA... AN UPPER LEVEL ANTICYCLONIC CIRCULATION IS CENTERED OVER HONDURAS NEAR 16N87W AND IS PROVIDING AN OVERALL SUBSIDENT ENVIRONMENT ACROSS THE WESTERN CARIBBEAN THIS AFTERNOON. NORTHERLY FLOW ALOFT ON THE EASTERN PERIPHERY OF THIS UPPER LEVEL RIDGE CONTINUES TO SUSTAIN DRY AIR OVER THE NW CARIBBEAN N OF 14N W OF 74W EVEN WITH THE PRESENCE OF A TROPICAL WAVE ALONG 80W. ONLY ISOLATED SHOWERS AND TSTMS ARE NOTED ON SATELLITE IMAGERY IN THE GULF OF HONDURAS AND ALONG COASTAL BELIZE. SOUTH OF 14N OVER THE SW CARIBBEAN...THE BASE OF AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH ALONG WITH LOW-LEVEL MOISTURE CONVERGENCE IS GENERATING SCATTERED SHOWERS AND TSTMS FROM 10N-14N BETWEEN 77W-83W. FURTHER SUPPORTING THIS CONVECTION IS THE TROPICAL WAVE MOVING WESTWARD AND THE CLOSE PROXIMITY OF THE MONSOON TROUGH ANALYZED FROM COSTA RICA EASTWARD ALONG 10N TO THE TROPICAL WAVE AXIS. THE AFOREMENTIONED BASE TO THE UPPER LEVEL TROUGH IS PART OF A LARGER MIDDLE TO UPPER LEVEL LOW CENTERED NE OF THE LEEWARD ISLANDS NEAR 21N60W. EMBEDDED WITHIN THE INFLUENCE OF THIS UPPER LEVEL LOW AND TROUGHING ARE A 1008 MB LOW CENTERED NORTH OF THE MONA PASSAGE NEAR 22N67W AND A TROPICAL WAVE ALONG 68W. MOST OF THE MORE INTENSE CONVECTIVE ACTIVITY REMAINS N OF 20N...HOWEVER A FEW ISOLATED SHOWERS AND TSTMS ARE OCCURRING ALONG THE NORTHERN COAST OF HISPANIOLA AND IN THE ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS OF SOUTHERN HAITI FROM 16N-18N BETWEEN 71W-74W. ATLANTIC OCEAN... SURFACE RIDGING IS LOCATED OVER NORTHWEST PORTIONS OF THE SW NORTH ATLC...HOWEVER A VERY BROAD UPPER LEVEL TROUGH IS OVER THE EASTERN CONUS AND EASTERN SEABOARD WITH A TROUGH AXIS EXTENDING FROM 33N77W SW INTO THE CENTRAL AND WESTERN GULF OF MEXICO. THIS TROUGH CONTINUES TO ADVECT MIDDLE TO UPPER LEVEL MOISTURE NORTHEASTWARD FROM THE SOUTHERN GULF OF MEXICO OVER THE FLORIDA PENINSULA TO BEYOND 32N75W AND GENERATE SCATTERED SHOWERS AND WIDELY SCATTERED TSTMS FROM 28N-33N BETWEEN 74W-80W. FARTHER SE OVER THE REMAINDER OF THE SW NORTH ATLC...AN UPPER LEVEL SHORTWAVE TROUGH AXIS IS ALONG 74W AND IS EMBEDDED WITHIN THE LARGER-SCALE SYNOPTIC FLOW OF A BROAD MIDDLE TO UPPER LEVEL LOW CENTERED NE OF THE EASTERN CARIBBEAN SEA NEAR 21N60W. THE RESULTANT FEATURE AT THE SURFACE IS A 1008 MB LOW CENTERED NEAR 22N67W THAT CONTINUES TO PRODUCE SCATTERED SHOWERS AND TSTMS IN THE VICINITY OF THE SURFACE LOW AND ALSO IN AN AREA OF MAXIMUM UPPER LEVEL DIFFLUENCE FROM 19N-27N BETWEEN 62W-73W WITH THE STRONGEST CONVECTION LOCATED WITHIN THE NW QUADRANT. ELSEWHERE ACROSS THE EASTERN AND CENTRAL ATLC...AN UPPER LEVEL LOW CENTERED NORTH OF THE DISCUSSION AREA NEAR 41N33W SUPPORTS A COLD FRONT ANALYZED ALONG 32N28W TO 24N40W TO 25N53W WHERE IT BECOMES STATIONARY TO 26N58W TO 24N67W...NORTH AND VERY NEAR THE 1008 MB LOW. ISOLATED SHOWERS AND TSTMS ARE OCCURRING WITHIN 120 NM EAST OF THE COLD FRONT AND WITHIN 90 NM EITHER SIDE OF THE STATIONARY FRONT BETWEEN 55W-65W. FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION PLEASE VISIT HTTP://WWW.HURRICANES.GOV/MARINE $$ HUFFMAN