000 AXNT20 KNHC 262350 TWDAT TROPICAL WEATHER DISCUSSION NWS NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL 805 PM EDT SAT MAR 26 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... CARIBBEAN GALE WARNING...WSW-ENE ORIENTED RIDGING ASSOCIATED WITH STRONG 1034 MB CENTRAL ATLANTIC HIGH PRESSURE NEAR 35N39W ALONG WITH A 1008 MB LOW PRESSURE CENTER OVER NORTHERN COLOMBIA CONTINUES TO SUPPORT FRESH TO NEAR GALE FORCE WINDS IN THE CENTRAL CARIBBEAN. WINDS WILL INCREASE TO MINIMAL GALE FORCE JUST NW OF THE COAST OF COLOMBIA LATE TONIGHT...DIMINISHING IN THE LATE MORNING SUN. SEAS WILL BUILD TO 10-15 FT LATE TONIGHT INTO EARLY SUN. SEE LATEST HIGH SEAS FORECAST UNDER AWIPS/WMO HEADERS MIAHSFAT2/ZNT02 KNHC OR THE OFFSHORE WATERS FORECAST UNDER HEADERS MIAOFFNT3/ZNT23 KNHC FOR MORE DETAILS. ...ITCZ/MONSOON TROUGH... THE MONSOON TROUGH EXTENDS FROM THE COAST OF GUINEA AFRICA NEAR 10N14W TO THE TROPICAL E ATLANTIC WATERS NEAR 05N17W. THE INTERTROPICAL CONVERGENCE ZONE AXIS EXTENDS FROM 05N17W TO 02N30W TO THE EQUATOR NEAR 45W. SCATTERED MODERATE CONVECTION IS WITHIN 30-60 NM EITHER SIDE OF THE AXIS BETWEEN 21W-29W...AND ALSO BETWEEN 30W-39W. ...DISCUSSION... GULF OF MEXICO... THE REMNANTS OF AN OLD COLD FRONT EXTENDS FROM THE NE GULF NEAR 29.5N83W TO 29N88.5W TO 27N92W TO 22N94W IN THE FORM OF A WARM FRONT AND TROUGH. VERY ACTIVE CONVECTION CONTINUES IN THE N CENTRAL AND NE GULF WITH FREQUENT LIGHTNING PRESENT. THE REMNANTS OF THE FRONT WILL WASH OUT AND DISSIPATE TONIGHT WITH HIGH PRESSURE RIDGING AND MAINLY MODERATE SOUTHERLY RETURN FLOW DOMINATING THE BASIN THROUGH SUN MORNING. A NEW WEAK COLD FRONT WILL MOVE INTO THE NW GULF SUN AFTERNOON SLOWLY SHIFTING ACROSS THE NORTHERN HALF OF THE GULF THROUGH MON AFTERNOON. THE IMPACTS OF THIS NEXT COLD FRONT ARE EXPECTED TO BE MINIMAL WITH ONLY A BRIEF WIND SHIFT OCCURRING BEFORE HIGH PRESSURE RIDGING AND SOUTHERLY RETURN FLOW BY TUE. CARIBBEAN SEA... OUTSIDE OF THE FRESH TO NEAR GALE FORCE TRADES IN THE CENTRAL CARIBBEAN WHICH WILL INCREASE TO MINIMAL GALE FORCE AS IS DISCUSSED IN THE SPECIAL FEATURES SECTION ABOVE...MODERATE TO FRESH EASTERLY FLOW PREVAILS. WINDS WILL PULSE TO FRESH TO STRONG IN THE GULF OF HONDURAS DURING THE NEXT 24-48 HOURS AS THE LOCAL PRESSURE GRADIENT FLUCTUATES. ISOLATED TRADE WIND SHOWERS CAN BE FOUND SPREADING FROM THE EASTERN CARIBBEAN INTO CENTRAL PORTIONS. OTHERWISE...THE PRESSURE GRADIENT ACROSS THE ENTIRE REGION WILL RELAX BY EARLY IN THE UPCOMING WEEK ALLOWING FOR TRADES TO DIMINISH. HISPANIOLA... ISOLATED SHOWERS ARE POSSIBLE ON THE WINDWARD SIDE OF THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC WITH EASTERLY TRADE WIND FLOW BUMPING UP ALONG THE TOPOGRAPHY OF THE ISLAND...ALONG WITH THE ADDITION OF DAYTIME HEATING. OTHERWISE FAIR WEATHER PREVAILS AND CAN BE EXPECTED TONIGHT AFTER SUNSET. A SIMILAR PATTERN AND WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE ANTICIPATED FOR SUN. ATLANTIC OCEAN... A STATIONARY FRONT EXTENDS FROM NEAR THE FLORIDA/GEORGIA BORDER TO OFFSHORE OF THE COASTAL CAROLINAS. VERY ACTIVE CONVECTION CONTINUES WITHIN 60-90 NM SE OF THE FRONT. OTHERWISE...WSW-ENE ORIENTED RIDGING ASSOCIATED WITH STRONG 1034 MB CENTRAL ATLANTIC HIGH PRESSURE NEAR 35N39W DOMINATES THE ATLANTIC BASIN WITH FRESH TO STRONG EASTERLY TRADE WIND FLOW FOUND ACROSS THE WATERS S OF 24N E OF THE BAHAMAS...AND MODERATE TO FRESH EASTERLY FLOW N OF 24N. THE FRONT OVER THE NW PORTION IS FORECAST TO LINGER TONIGHT...SHIFTING NW OR DISSIPATING BY SUN MORNING. THE NEXT COLD FRONT WILL APPROACH THE EXTREME NW PORTION OFF OF THE SE GEORGIA/NE FLORIDA COASTS LATE SUN NIGHT INTO EARLY MORNING. THIS FRONT WILL SLOWLY CLIP THE WATERS BETWEEN 30N-32N THROUGH MON AFTERNOON. FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION PLEASE VISIT HTTP://WWW.HURRICANES.GOV/MARINE $$ LEWITSKY