Special Features

Gulf of America Gale Warning: A strong cold front will move into the northern Gulf Sat night and shift quickly across the basin through early Mon. Strong to near-gale northerly winds and rough seas will follow the front. Gale-force winds and very rough seas are expected to develop offshore of Tampico Sun morning and near the coast of Veracruz Sun afternoon through Sun night. Seas in these areas of winds are expected to build to 12 to 14 ft. Winds and seas should gradually subside from NW to SE Mon through Tue in the wake of the front.

Atlantic Gale Warning: This same strong cold front moving through the Gulf of America this weekend will exit the SE U. S. coast late Sun morning and shift southeastward across portions of the W and central Atlantic waters through mid week. Gale force NW winds are expected behind the front, N of 29N between 80W and 73W, Sun afternoon through Sun night before lifting N of 31N. Seas during this time will build to 12 to 15 ft. The front is expected to stall and weaken by Wed from the central Atlantic to central portions of the Dominican Republic, with winds and seas diminishing significantly behind the front Tue through Wed night.

Please read the latest NWS High Seas issued by the National Hurricane Center at website: https: //www. nhc. noaa. gov/text/MIAHSFAT2. shtml for more information on these Gale Warnings.

Monsoon Trough Itcz

The monsoon trough remains inland over Africa. The ITCZ extends from the coast of Sierra Leone near 08N13W and continues to the coast of Brazil near 02N43W. Scattered showers and tstorms are within 120 nm of the equator west of 30W.

GULF OF AMERICA,

Please see the SPECIAL FEATURES section for information about a GALE WARNING.

High pressure centered over the western Atlantic continues to provide for gentle to moderate SE return flow across most of the Gulf waters. Seas are currently 3-6 ft. The SE return flow is lifting smoke from agricultural fires in SE Mexico northward, producing hazy skies W of 92W. In addition, the warmer southerly wind flow, moving across the cooler coastal waters is also causing the development of areas of dense fog with low visibilities, from the NE Mexican coast to SE Louisiana and the Florida Big Bend tonight. Patches of dense fog are expected to dissipate today.

For the forecast, the subtropical ridge will maintain moderate to locally fresh southerly winds and moderate seas across the central Gulf through this evening. A strong cold front will move into the northern Gulf this evening and shift quickly across the basin through early Mon, producing fresh to near-gale northerly winds and rough seas behind it. Gale-force winds and very rough seas are expected offshore of Tampico Sun and offshore of Veracruz Sun afternoon and night. Winds and seas should gradually subside from NW to SE Mon through Tue in the wake of the front.

CARIBBEAN SEA,

The pressure gradient between the subtropical high, currently centered over the western and central Atlantic, and lower pressure over Colombia is currently supporting strong to near-gale force tradewinds in the south-central Caribbean Sea. These winds were well- sampled by satellite scatterometer a couple hours ago. The persistence of these near-gale force wind speeds and fresh to strong trades elsewhere across the central Caribbean has resulted in 8-11 ft seas in the south-central Caribbean off the coast of Colombia. Elsewhere across the basin, seas are 4-7 ft with moderate to locally fresh trades, except in the Gulf of Honduras where trades are fresh to strong.

For the forecast, the pressure gradient between an Atlantic ridge along 25N and the Colombian low will support fresh to strong trade winds in the Gulf of Honduras through tonight and across the south-central Caribbean through Sun, before diminishing. Winds will remain near-gale force through tonight offshore of Colombia. Moderate to occasionally fresh trade winds are expected for the rest of the Caribbean through Sun night. Farther east, rough seas will linger E of the Lesser Antilles through tonight as N swell progresses across the central tropical Atlantic. A strong cold front will enter the northwestern Caribbean early Mon, then extend from NW Haiti to near the Nicaragua-Costa Rica border Tue morning. Expect strong N winds and rapidly building seas behind this front.

ATLANTIC OCEAN,

Please see the SPECIAL FEATURES section for information about a GALE WARNING.

High pressure dominates the tropical Atlantic, with 1020 mb high centered near 27N70W and 1022 mb high pressure centered near 23N54W. The ridge axis extends across the basin at approximately 25N. Light to gentle anticyclonic flow around the ridge axis prevails north of 20N, with moderate to locally fresh trades prevailing south of 20N. Seas are 4-7 ft across open waters.

For the forecast west of 55W, the ridge of high pressure will shift slowly eastward through the weekend, producing moderate to fresh S to SW winds offshore of northern Florida through early Sun. A strong cold front will push offshore of the southeastern U. S. on Sun, with strong to gale force NW winds and rapidly building seas behind the front through early Mon. The front is expected to reach from near Bermuda to central Cuba Mon, and from 31N60W to the NW coast of the Dominican Republic Tue, while weakening. The front will stall and weaken quickly from 29N55W to the central Dominican Republic Wed.

Posted about 2 hours ago by NHC Forecaster Mahoney