Special Features

W Atlantic Gale Warning: A strong cold front will move into the waters offshore of northeast Florida by Sat morning, and reach from 31N60W to SE Florida by Sun morning before dissipating on Mon. Strong NE winds, with frequent gusts to gale force, and rough to very rough seas will follow the front through early Sun.

Please read the latest HIGH SEAS FORECAST issued by the National Hurricane Center at website: https: //www. nhc. noaa. gov/text/MIAHSFAT2. shtml for more details.

Monsoon Trough Itcz

The monsoon trough enters the Atlantic near 06N11W and continues southwestward to 00N21W. The ITCZ extends from 00N21W to 02S46W. Scattered moderate convection is noted from the equator to 06N between 10W and 35W.

GULF OF AMERICA,

High pressure centered over the western Atlantic continues to extend a surface ridge across the Gulf. Gentle to moderate E to SE winds prevail across the basin with 2-4 ft seas as detected by recent satellite altimeter data. Winds may pulse to locally fresh speeds off the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula, in association with the diurnal surface trough currently analyzed along the western coast of the Peninsula. A trough analyzed along the Gulf Coast of Florida is producing a few showers.

For the forecast, weak high pressure will persist over the NE Gulf through late Fri. The trough over the Bay of Campeche will support moderate to fresh winds off the northern and western coasts of the Yucatan Peninsula, mainly at night, through early next week. The next cold front will move into the northern Gulf early Sat morning, reach the southeast Gulf by Sun morning, and move southeast of the basin late on Sun. Fresh to strong NE to E winds and rough seas are expected in the wake of the front over the eastern Gulf Sat night through early Mon. The pressure gradient will remain strong enough to sustain fresh to strong east winds across the southeast Gulf and the Straits of Florida through the middle of the next week.

CARIBBEAN SEA,

The pressure gradient between high pressure north of the basin and the Colombian low is supporting fresh to locally strong trades in the south-central Caribbean, including within the Gulf of Venezuela. Seas are 7-9 ft with these winds, mainly offshore the coast of Colombia. Elsewhere, moderate to fresh trade winds and 4-7 ft seas prevail across the basin. NE winds are locally fresh within the Windward Passage and off the southern tip of Hispaniola, per the latest satellite scatterometer data. Scattered showers and tstorms are noted with a coastal trough in the Gulf of Honduras.

For the forecast, high pressure north of the area combined with the Colombian low will support fresh to strong trade winds and moderate to rough seas offshore Colombia through early next week. Looking ahead, high pressure will follow a strong cold front moving through the western Atlantic this weekend, supporting fresh to strong NE winds and building seas in the lee side of Cuba, the Windward Passage, and just south of Hispaniola from Sat night through the early part of next week.

ATLANTIC OCEAN,

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

Two surface troughs are analyzed in the western Atlantic, with minimal meteorological impacts. High pressure prevails across the tropical Atlantic, anchored by a high centered in the western Atlantic north of 31N. Tonight's satellite scatterometer data indicates gentle to moderate trades across the basin, with satellite altimeter data supporting an analysis of 4-7 ft seas in open waters.

For the forecast west of 55W, aside from the GALE WARNING, a ridge will dominate the forecast waters through late Fri supporting gentle to moderate easterly winds and moderate seas. Strong high pressure in the wake of the next cold front will cause fresh to strong NE to E winds and rough to very rough seas across most of the forecast region likely through Tue. Posted about 5 hours ago by NHC Forecaster Mahoney