000 AXPZ20 KNHC 311535 TWDEP TROPICAL WEATHER DISCUSSION NWS NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL 1605 UTC SAT JAN 31 2015 TROPICAL WEATHER DISCUSSION FOR THE EASTERN PACIFIC OCEAN FROM THE EQUATOR TO 32N...EAST OF 140W. THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION IS BASED ON SATELLITE IMAGERY...WEATHER OBSERVATIONS...RADAR...AND METEOROLOGICAL ANALYSIS. BASED ON 1200 UTC SURFACE ANALYSIS AND SATELLITE IMAGERY THROUGH 1500 UTC. ...SPECIAL FEATURES... GULF OF TEHUANTEPEC GALE WARNING...A TIGHT PRESSURE GRADIENT ACROSS SOUTHERN MEXICO CONTINUES TO SUPPORT MINIMAL GALE FORCE WINDS IN THE GULF OF TEHUANTEPEC EARLY THIS MORNING. THE 1200 UTC RAPIDSCAT SHOWS NORTHERLY WINDS OF 25-30 KT ACROSS THIS AREA AND THE GALE WARNING IS ALLOWED TO EXPIRE NOW. WINDS WILL QUICKLY DIMINISH TO 20 KT OR LESS BY THIS AFTERNOON AS THE PRESSURE GRADIENT WEAKENS AND WINDS IN THE SW GULF OF MEXICO BECOME SOUTHERLY. AN AREA OF 8-10 FT COMBINED SWELL FROM THE GULFS OF TEHUANTEPEC AND PAPAGAYO SPANS ACROSS MUCH OF THE AREA FROM 05N TO 14N BETWEEN 93W AND 105W. THIS AREA OF HIGH SEAS WILL GRADUALLY SUBSIDE LATE TODAY THROUGH LATE SUN. ...INTERTROPICAL CONVERGENCE ZONE/MONSOON TROUGH... THE ITCZ EXTENDS FROM 05N90W TO 06N110W TO 07N120W TO 06N140W. SCATTERED MODERATE ISOLATED STRONG CONVECTION IS WITHIN 75 NM N OF AXIS BETWEEN 105W AND 112W...AND FROM 05N TO 08N BETWEEN 118W AND 125W. SCATTERED MODERATE IS FROM 04N TO 07N BETWEEN 134W AND 138W ...DISCUSSION... 1024 MB SUBTROPICAL HIGH NEAR 32N132W EXTENDS A RIDGE SOUTHWARD ACROSS THE NORTH WATERS...PARTICULARLY N OF 15N W OF 115W. THIS HIGH WILL REMAIN NEARLY STATIONARY OVER THE NEXT 24 HOURS. PRESSURE GRADIENT BETWEEN THE RIDGE AND LOWER PRESSURE IN THE VICINITY OF THE ITCZ IS RESULTING IN AN AREA OF FRESH TO STRONG NE WINDS MAINLY W OF 130W N OF THE ITCZ. THE MOST RECENT SCATTEROMETER DATA CONFIRMED THE PRESENCE OF THESE WINDS FORECAST TO PERSIST W OF 130W THROUGH EARLY SUN. A SMALL AREA OF FRESH TO LOCALLY STRONG NE TO E WINDS IS NOTED PER AN ASCAT PASS SW OF THE GULF OF TEHUANTEPEC FROM 11N TO 13N BETWEEN 96W AND 100W. SEAS GENERATED BY A STRONG OCCLUDED LOW PRESSURE IN THE CENTRAL PACIFIC WILL REACH THE FAR NW CORNER OF THE AREA IN ABOUT 18-24 HOURS WITH SEAS TO 9 FT NW OF A LINE FROM 30N138W TO 27N140W BY EARLY SUN MORNING. GAP WINDS... GULF OF PAPAGAYO...AN EARLIER SCATTEROMETER PASS PROVIDED OBSERVATIONS OF FRESH TO STRONG WINDS ACROSS THE GULF OF PAPAGAYO...ESPECIALLY FROM 09N TO 11.5N E OF 89W. THESE WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO CONTINUE THROUGH SUN MORNING WITH MAX DRAINAGE FLOW DURING LATE NIGHT AND EARLY MORNING HOURS. SWELL FROM PAPAGAYO WILL SUBSIDE AND SHRINK EASTWARD AS WIND GRADUALLY DIMINISH THIS WEEKEND. FRESH NE WINDS ARE NOTED ACROSS THE GULF OF FONSECA THIS MORNING. GULF OF PANAMA...FRESH TO STRONG N WINDS ARE FUNNELING INTO THE GULF OF PANAMA FROM THE CARIBBEAN SEA. WINDS WILL PULSE AGAIN TO 25 KT OVERNIGHT TONIGHT AND EARLY MORNING SUN THEN DIMINISH TO 20 KT OR LESS DURING SUN AFTERNOON. SEAS TO 8 FT IN MIXED NE AND NW SWELL ARE EXPECTED AS FAR S AS 03N BY EARLY SUN MORNING. $$ GR