000 AXNT20 KNHC 240000 TWDAT TROPICAL WEATHER DISCUSSION NWS NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL 705 PM EST TUE FEB 23 2016 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. ...SPECIAL FEATURES... GULF OF MEXICO GALE WARNING...A COLD FRONT IS ALONG THE COAST OF TEXAS. FREQUENT GUSTS TO 35 KT ARE N OF 28N W OF 93W WITH SEAS BUILDING TO 10 FT. TONIGHT ON 24/0000 UTC THE COLD FRONT WILL EXTEND FROM 30N89W TO 26N93W TO 23N98W. A GALE IS FORECAST W OF FRONT WITH NW TO N WINDS 30 TO 40 KT AND SEAS TO 14 FT. THE GALE IS FORECAST TO PERSIST UNTIL 25/0000 UTC. SEE LATEST NHC HIGH SEAS FORECAST UNDER THE AWIPS/WMO HEADERS MIAHSFAT2/FZNT02 KNHC FOR MORE DETAILS. ...ITCZ/MONSOON TROUGH... THE MONSOON TROUGH ENTERS THE E TROPICAL ATLC NEAR 10N15W TO 9N18W TO 01N23W WHERE THE ITCZ BEGINS AND CONTINUES TO 03S35W TO 02S40W TO THE COAST OF SOUTH AMERICA NEAR 02S45W. SCATTERED MODERATE CONVECTION IS FROM EQUATOR TO 3S BETWEEN 21W-25W... AND FROM 01S-07S BETWEEN 30W-40W. ...DISCUSSION... GULF OF MEXICO... A COLD FRONT IS ALONG THE COAST OF TEXAS MOVING SE. 25 KT WINDS OR GREATER ARE ON BOTH SIDES OF THE FRONT. FREQUENT GUSTS TO GALE ARE BEING REPORTED OFF THE COAST OF HOUSTON TEXAS. A GALE IS FORECAST TONIGHT ON 24/0000 UTC. SEE ABOVE. A PREFRONTAL TROUGH EXTENDS FROM 30N93W TO 26N95W. SCATTERED MODERATE CONVECTION IS FROM 28N-31N BETWEEN 89W-93W TO INCLUDE SE LOUISIANA AND S MISSISSIPPI. FURTHER S...SCATTERED SHOWERS ARE OVER W CUBA AND THE STRAITS OF FLORIDA BETWEEN 80W-83W. ELSEWHERE...THE SOUTHERN GULF OF MEXICO S OF 25N W OF 83W HAS FAIR WEATHER WITH 15 KT S WINDS. IN THE UPPER LEVELS...AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH IS OVER THE GULF WITH AXIS ALONG 94W SUPPORTING THE COLD FRONT. UPPER LEVEL MOISTURE IS OVER LOUISIANA AND MISSISSIPPI. STRONG SUBSIDENCE IS OVER THE GULF. EXPECT IN 24 HOURS FOR THE COLD FRONT TO EXTEND FROM JACKSONVILLE FLORIDA TO THE CENTRAL YUCATAN PENINSULA WITH CONVECTION. GALE FORCE WINDS WILL THEN BE PREDOMINATELY OVER THE NE GULF. CARIBBEAN SEA... 10-25 KT TRADEWINDS ARE OVER THE CARIBBEAN SEA WITH STRONGEST WINDS ALONG THE COAST OF N COLOMBIA. SCATTERED SHOWERS ARE OVER PUERTO RICO...HISPANIOLA...W CUBA...W PANAMA...AND COSTA RICA. MOSTLY FAIR WEATHER IS OVER THE REMAINDER OF THE SEA. IN THE UPPER LEVELS...A BROAD RIDGE IS OVER THE CARIBBEAN WITH AXIS ALONG 70W. STRONG SUBSIDENCE COVERS THE ENTIRE CARIBBEAN AND CENTRAL AMERICA. EXPECT IN 24 HOURS FOR CONVECTION TO BE OVER THE YUCATAN PENINSULA AND THE YUCATAN CHANNEL DUE TO THE COLD FRONT. EXPECT LITTLE CHANGE ELSEWHERE. HISPANIOLA... ISOLATED LOW LEVEL SHOWERS ARE PRESENTLY OVER CENTRAL HISPANIOLA. EXPECT FEWER SHOWERS OVER THE NEXT 24 HOURS. ATLANTIC OCEAN... A STATIONARY FRONT ENTERS THE CENTRAL ATLANTIC NEAR 30N49W AND EXTENDS SW TO N OF HISPANIOLA ALONG 26N60W 25N67W 20N69W. SCATTERED SHOWERS ARE WITHIN 90 NM OF THE FRONT N OF 22N. A 1031 MB HIGH IS OVER THE E ATLANTIC NEAR 34N24W. OF NOTE IN THE UPPER LEVELS...AN UPPER LEVEL LOW IS CENTERED NEAR 30N44W. UPPER LEVEL DIFFLUENCE E OF THE CENTER IS ENHANCING SHOWERS. EXPECT THE FRONT TO REMAIN QUASI-STATIONARY OVER THE NEXT 24 HOURS WITH SHOWERS. ALSO EXPECT IN 24 HOURS FOR SHOWERS TO BE OVER THE W ATLANTIC OFF THE COAST OF FLORIDA DUE TO THE APPROACHING COLD FRONT. FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION PLEASE VISIT HTTP://WWW.HURRICANES.GOV/MARINE $$ FORMOSA