Special Features

Atlantic Ocean High Seas Event: Rough to very rough seas in mixed N to NE swell continue across all the Atlantic waters south of 31N and east of 80W this evening, along and to the north of strong cold front that extends from 31N60W to the Florida Keys at 1800 UTC. Recent altimeter and buoy data show seas of at least 12 to 16 ft, in a broad spectrum of wave periods from 7 to 10 seconds, with peak seas likely around 18 ft. These seas are begin generated by a broad wind field moving southeastward with the cold front, and will continue to propagate and cover most of the waters N of 25N and W of 55W to the Bahamas by tonight. The cold front will reach from 31N50W to Hispaniola by Mon morning. At that time, seas of 12 to 16 ft are expected behind the front. Rough to very rough seas will continue to affect most of central and western Atlantic waters N of 2ON through Tue morning. Seas are forecast to subside below 12 ft by Wed night.

Please, refer to the latest NWS High Seas Forecast, that is issued by the National Hurricane Center, at the website: https: //www. nhc. noaa. gov/text/MIAHSFAT2. shtml, for more details.

Gale Warning E of 35W: Meteo-France has issued a Gale Warning for the forecast zone of Agadir near the coast of W Africa. The forecast calls for northeast gales to 40 kt, with severe gusts, from 29/18 UTC to 30/12 UTC at least. Seas are forecast to build to 15 or 16 ft with these winds by Mon morning.

For more details, refer to the Meteo- France High Seas Forecast listed on their website https: //wwmiws. wmo. int

Monsoon Trough Itcz

The monsoon trough enters the Atlantic from the coast of Liberia near 06N10W and continues westward to 02. 5N17W. The ITCZ then extends from that point to the coast of Brazil at 03S39W. Scattered moderate to isolated strong convection is noted from 00N to 05N between 03W and 28W. Similar convective activity is S of 01N between 28W and 50W.

Gulf Of America

A cold front across the basin today is becoming ill defined as it stretches from the Florida Keys to the central Gulf near 26N89W. Scattered moderate convection is along and north of the front over central portions. Moderate to fresh NE to E winds and moderate to rough seas prevail north of the front over the NE Gulf basin E of 90W. Moderate NE winds are ongoing in the E Bay of Campeche with seas 4 to 5 ft. Elsewhere winds are moderate or weaker, becoming SE winds across NW portions of the Gulf, with slight to moderate seas prevailing.

For the forecast, the cold front over the SE Gulf will stall and dissipate early this week. High pressure will build in the wake of the front. Moderate to fresh E to SE winds and moderate seas will prevail over the E Gulf through Fri night. Moderate to locally fresh SE winds are forecast for the western half of the Gulf.

Caribbean Sea

The pressure gradient between strong high pressure building north of the Atlantic cold front and the Colombian low is supporting fresh to strong NE to E winds offshore Colombia, where seas are 6 to 8 ft. Winds of similar speed are ongoing through the Windward Passage, in the lee of Cuba and south of Hispaniola, where seas are 5 to 7 ft. Elsewhere, moderate or weaker winds prevail. Low- topped trade wind showers are moving westward across the basin, with showers more concentrated across the western basin.

For the forecast, the pressure gradient between high pressure N of the area and the Colombian low will support fresh to strong winds and rough seas offshore Colombia through midweek, pulsing to near gale force at night. Fresh winds will then pulse to strong there at night through Fri night. This pressure gradient will also support fresh to strong NE winds in the lee side of Cuba, the Windward Passage, and south of Hispaniola through Thu.

Atlantic Ocean

A strong cold front extends from 31N60W through the NW Bahamas and across the Florida Keys. Strong to near-gale force NE to E winds, and rough to very rough seas dominate the entire area N of the front. See details on these conditions in the Special Features section. Scattered to locally numerous showers are along and within 150 nm N of the front. Farther E, a surface trough is analyzed and extends 31N56W to 21N57W. A weak 1017 mb low pressure is along the trough near 28N56W. An area of showers, with isolated thunderstorms, is east of the trough axis, covering the waters N of 20N between 46W and the trough. The remainder of the Atlantic forecast region is under the influence of a strong 1042 mb high pressure located NE of the Azores. The associated ridge extends SW to near 50W. This system tightens the pressure gradient across the area and supports fresh to strong NE to E winds and moderate to rough seas in NE swell extending from the NW coast of Africa to about 30W, including the Madeiras and Canary Islands. Moderate or weaker winds and moderate seas are elsewhere.

For the forecast west of 55W, the above mentioned cold front will reach from 31N50W to Hispaniola by Mon morning before dissipating over the SE waters on Tue. Strong to near-gale force NE to E winds will continue to generate rough to very rough seas N of the front. Strong high pressure will build in the wake of the front. Due to this strong high pressure, fresh to strong NE to E winds and rough to very rough seas are expected across most of the offshore forecast waters through the end of the week. Posted about 7 hours ago by NHC Forecaster Stripling