000 AXNT20 KNHC 220002 TWDAT TROPICAL WEATHER DISCUSSION NWS NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL 705 PM EST FRI DEC 21 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 1800 UTC SURFACE ANALYSIS AND SATELLITE IMAGERY THROUGH 2315 UTC. ...ITCZ/MONSOON TROUGH... THE ITCZ EXITS SIERRA LEONE NEAR 8N13W...THEN EXTENDS WESTWARD TO 5N30W TO 4N40W TO N BRAZIL NEAR 3N51W. WIDELY SCATTERED MODERATE CONVECTION IS FROM 4N-5N BETWEEN 22W-24W. ISOLATED MODERATE CONVECTION IS FROM 2N-6N BETWEEN 29W-42W. ...DISCUSSION... GULF OF MEXICO... A COLD FRONT HAS RECENTLY EXITED THE GULF OF MEXICO. A 1033 MB HIGH IS CENTERED OVER S TEXAS NEAR 28N98N. 15-30 KT NORTHERLY WINDS ARE OVER THE GULF WITH THE STRONGEST WINDS OVER THE E GULF ...AND THE BAY OF CAMPECHE. THE SURFACE GRADIENT IS LEAST OVER THE NW GULF AND THE COAST OF TEXAS WITH 15 KT WINDS. OVERCAST LOW CLOUDS ARE OVER THE SW GULF TO INCLUDE THE BAY OF CAMPECHE S OF 24N W OF 90W. SIGNIFICANT COLD AIR ADVECTION IS ALSO OVER THE GULF. IN THE UPPER LEVELS...THE BASE OF AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH IS OVER THE N GULF. SCATTERED TO BROKEN UPPER LEVEL CLOUDS ARE OVER S TEXAS AND THE NW GULF. EXPECT...THE SURFACE HIGH TO MOVE TO S LOUISIANA IN 24 HOURS WITH MOSTLY FAIR WEATHER AND LOWER WIND VELOCITIES OVER THE GULF. CARIBBEAN SEA... AS OF 2100 UTC...A COLD FRONT EXTENDS FROM W CUBA AT 22N80W TO N BELIZE AT 18N88W TO S MEXICO AT 17N94W. 20-25 KT N WINDS ARE OVER THE NW CARIBBEAN N OF FRONT. SCATTERED SHOWERS ARE ALONG THE COAST OF BELIZE. ISOLATED MODERATE CONVECTION IS FURTHER S OVER THE SW CARIBBEAN...N COLOMBIA... PANAMA... COSTA RICA... AND NICARAGUA FROM 6N-13N BETWEEN 73W-85W. ELSEWHERE...SCATTERED SHOWERS ARE OVER THE WINDWARD ISLANDS FROM 10N-14N E OF 69W. MORE SHOWERS ARE OVER THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS OF PUERTO RICO...HISPANIOLA...AND E CUBA. IN THE UPPER LEVELS...AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH IS OVER THE W CARIBBEAN W OF 70W. ZONAL FLOW IS OVER THE REMAINDER OF THE CARIBBEAN. EXPECT IN 24 HOURS... FOR THE COLD FRONT TO EXTEND FROM E CUBA TO NE HONDURAS WITH SHOWERS. ALSO EXPECT CONTINUED PRECIPITATION OVER THE SOUTHERN CARIBBEAN. ATLANTIC OCEAN... AS OF 2100 UTC...A COLD FRONT EXTENDS FROM 32N70W TO W CUBA AT 22N80W. SCATTERED SHOWERS ARE WITHIN 60 NM OF THE FRONT N OF 27N. A 1017 MB HIGH IS OVER THE W ATLANTIC NEAR 26N65W. FURTHER E...A COLD FRONT EXTENDS FROM 32N36W TO 21N50W DISSIPATING TO THE LEEWARD ISLANDS AT 18N60W. SCATTERED SHOWERS ARE WITHIN 240 NM E OF THE FRONT. IN THE TROPICAL ATLANTIC...WIDELY SCATTERED MODERATE CONVECTION IS N SURINAME FROM 8N-10N BETWEEN 47W-52W. IN THE UPPER LEVELS... UPPER LEVEL TROUGHS ARE SUPPORTING BOTH FRONTS. EXPECT OVER THE NEXT 24 HOURS FOR BOTH COLD FRONTS TO MOVE E WITH CONVECTION. FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION PLEASE VISIT HTTP://WWW.HURRICANES.GOV/MARINE $$ FORMOSA