000 AXNT20 KNHC 270603 TWDAT Tropical Weather Discussion NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL 203 AM EDT Mon Mar 27 2017 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 0000 UTC surface analysis and satellite imagery through 0515 UTC. ...SPECIAL FEATURES... ...GALE-FORCE WINDS IN THE ATLANTIC OCEAN... The current synoptic analysis consists of: a surface trough from 29N66W,to a 1009 mb low pressure center that is near 24N69W, to 20N70W. Expect NE-to-E gale-force winds and sea heights ranging from 13 feet to 17 feet, within 30 NM on either side of the line from 28N65W to 27.5N67.5W to 26N69.5W. Please read the latest High Seas Forecast product under AWIPS/WMO headers HSFAT2/FZNT02 KNHC for more details. ...ITCZ/MONSOON TROUGH... The Monsoon Trough passes through the coastal sections of Sierra Leone near 07N12W, curving to 05N15W. The ITCZ continues from 05N15W, to the Equator along 28W, to 01S36W, and to the coast of Brazil near 03S43W. Convective precipitation: widely scattered to scattered moderate and isolated strong from 04N southward between 24W and 40W. Isolated moderate to locally strong elsewhere from 05N southward between 10W and 48W. ...DISCUSSION... ...THE GULF OF MEXICO... An upper level ridge is moving through the central sections of the Gulf of Mexico. It is spreading upper level anticyclonic wind flow everywhere in the Gulf of Mexico. An upper level trough is moving through the central sections of the U.S.A., from 30N in Texas northward. A surface ridge passes through 32N76W in the Atlantic Ocean, across NE Florida, through the central Gulf of Mexico, into the SW corner of the Gulf of Mexico. ...LOW LEVEL CLOUD CEILINGS AND WEATHER FOR THE OFFSHORE OIL PLATFORM SITES THAT ARE IN THE AREA WHOSE BOUNDARIES ARE FROM 27N NORTHWARD AND FROM 88W WESTWARD... LIFR: none. IFR: none. MVFR: KMZG, KBBF, KBQX, KXIH, KVBS, KVAF, KEMK, KHQI, KGUL, KEHC, KVQT, KEIR, KIKT, and KVKY. LOW LEVEL CLOUD CEILINGS AND WEATHER...FOR THE COASTAL PLAINS OF THE U.S.A. FROM THE DEEP SOUTH OF TEXAS TO FLORIDA... TEXAS: MVFR in Hebbronville, Palacios, Angleton/Lake Jackson, Galveston, around the Houston metropolitan area and surrounding smaller communities, and in Beaumont/Port Arthur. LOUISIANA: MVFR in the SW and south central coastal sections, everywhere around Lake Pontchartrain, and in the SE coastal plains. MISSISSIPPI: IFR and MVFR from McComb and Hattiesburg southward. ALABAMA: IFR and some MVFR from Dothan-to-Evergreen southward. FLORIDA: a mixture of LIFR/IFR/MVFR from Perry westward, into the Florida Panhandle. ...FROM THE WESTERN ATLANTIC OCEAN INTO THE CARIBBEAN SEA... An upper level trough passes through 32N75W to 23N71W to Jamaica, to 16N81W, to southern Nicaragua. A surface ridge extends from the NW Bahamas to the western two-thirds of Cuba, to Nicaragua. A surface trough is along 29N66W, to a 1009 mb low pressure center that is near 24N69W, to central sections of the Dominican Republic, to 17N70W in the Caribbean Sea. Convective precipitation: Broken to overcast multilayered clouds and isolated moderate from 22N between 55W and 72W. Rainshowers are possible from 18N to 22N between 57W and 72W. ...THE REST OF THE CARIBBEAN SEA... The dividing line of wind flow regimes is the Atlantic Ocean 23N71W-to-Nicaragua upper level trough. Upper level SW wind flow covers everywhere that is to the east of the trough. Upper level NW wind flow is to the NW of the trough. No 24-hour rainfall totals are listed for the period that ended at 27/0000 UTC...according to the PAN AMERICAN TEMPERATURE AND PRECIPITATION TABLES...MIATPTPAN/SXCA01 KNHC. ...HISPANIOLA... Middle level-to-upper level SW wind flow is moving across the island. Rainshowers are possible inland, and in the coastal waters. SURFACE OBSERVATIONS...for the DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Santo Domingo: MVFR. ceiling 1800 feet. few cumulonimbus clouds. La Romana: VFR. Punta Cana: VFR. Santiago/Puerto Plata: VFR. The GFS MODEL forecast for 250 mb shows that SW wind flow will move across the area during the next 48 hours. A ridge will extend from Colombia to 10N95W in the eastern Pacific Ocean. The GFS MODEL forecast for 500 mb, and for 700 mb, shows that SW wind flow will be moving across the area, with a trough to the W and NW of the area. The wind flow will become SW-to-W, as a second trough moves into the Windward Passage at the end of the 48-hour forecast period. ...THE REST OF THE ATLANTIC OCEAN... An upper level trough passes through 32N16W to 20N25W and 10N26W. A dissipating cold front passes through 32N28W to 30N30W and 29N34W. Convective precipitation: rainshowers are possible from 17N northward between Africa and 27W. Surface anticyclonic wind flow covers the area that is from 10N to 29N between Africa and 50W. A 1022 mb high pressure center is near 27N24W. Surface anticyclonic wind flow covers the area that is from 30N northward between 50W and the SE coast of the U.S.A. For additional information please visit http://www.hurricanes.gov/marine $$ MT