858  
AXNT20 KNHC 151612  
TWDAT  
 
TROPICAL WEATHER DISCUSSION  
NWS NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL  
1815 UTC SUN MAR 15 2026  
 
TROPICAL WEATHER DISCUSSION FOR NORTH AMERICA, CENTRAL AMERICA  
GULF OF AMERICA, CARIBBEAN SEA, NORTHERN SECTIONS OF SOUTH  
AMERICA, AND ATLANTIC OCEAN TO THE AFRICAN COAST FROM THE  
EQUATOR TO 31N. THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION IS BASED ON SATELLITE  
IMAGERY, WEATHER OBSERVATIONS, RADAR AND METEOROLOGICAL ANALYSIS.  
 
BASED ON 1200 UTC SURFACE ANALYSIS AND SATELLITE IMAGERY THROUGH  
1550 UTC.  
   
..SPECIAL FEATURES
 
 
GULF OF AMERICA GALE WARNING: A STRONG COLD FRONT IS EXPECTED TO  
ENTER THE NORTHWESTERN GULF TONIGHT, THEN MOVE SOUTHEASTWARD  
ACROSS THE GULF THROUGH MON NIGHT. WIDESPREAD STRONG TO NEAR-GALE  
NORTHERLY WINDS WILL FOLLOW THE FRONT, PEAKING TO GALE-FORCE OFF  
THE TEXAS COAST TONIGHT THROUGH EARLY MON MORNING, THEN OFF THE  
MEXICO COAST FROM THE TEXAS-MEXICO BORDER SOUTHWARD TO NEAR  
VERACRUZ MON. SEAS WILL PEAK TO 15 FT WITH THE STRONGEST WINDS.  
WINDS OFF TAMPICO AND VERACRUZ, MEXICO COULD GUST UP TO STORM-  
FORCE ON MON. BOTH WINDS AND SEAS SHOULD GRADUALLY SUBSIDE FROM  
NORTH TO SOUTH STARTING MON EVENING.  
 
PLEASE REFER TO 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 05N9W AND CONTINUES  
TO 02N19W. THE ITCZ CONTINUES FROM 02N19W TO 04S38W. SCATTERED  
MODERATE CONVECTION IS FROM 01N TO 05N BETWEEN 21W AND 38W.  
 
GULF OF AMERICA...  
 
PLEASE READ THE SPECIAL FEATURES SECTION ABOVE FOR INFORMATION ON  
A GALE WARNING.  
 
MODERATE TO FRESH SW TO S RETURN FLOW PREVAILS ALONG THE WESTERN  
EDGE OF THE SUBTROPICAL ATLANTIC RIDGE, WITH LOCALLY STRONG WINDS  
NOTED IN THE FAR NW GULF OFF THE COAST OF TEXAS. SCATTERED  
MODERATE CONVECTION IS EVIDENT ON SATELLITE FROM 22N TO 27N  
BETWEEN 82W AND 87W, INCLUDING WATERS IN THE VICINITY OF THE  
YUCATAN PASSAGE AND WESTERN STRAITS OF FLORIDA. ADDITIONAL  
SCATTERED MODERATE CONVECTION IS DEVELOPING OVER SOUTH FLORIDA.  
THIS UNSETTLED WEATHER ACROSS THE EASTERN GULF IS A RESULT OF A  
SHORTWAVE TROUGH IN THE REGION DRIFTING TOWARDS THE FLORIDA  
PENINSULA.  
 
FOR THE FORECAST, A STRONG COLD FRONT WILL ENTER THE NW GULF  
TONIGHT, QUICKLY REACHING THE SOUTHEASTERN GULF BY MON NIGHT AND  
SLOW DOWN AS IT MOVES INTO THE NORTHWESTERN CARIBBEAN ON TUE.  
STRONG TO GALE-FORCE N WINDS AND BUILDING SEAS WILL FOLLOW THE  
FRONT. GALE CONDITIONS AND ROUGH TO VERY ROUGH SEAS ARE FORECAST  
IN THE NW GULF, AND OFFSHORE TAMPICO AND VERACRUZ, MEXICO TONIGHT  
AND MON. GUSTY WINDS TO STORM-FORCE ARE EXPECTED OFFSHORE TAMPICO  
AND VERACRUZ ON MON. IN THE WAKE OF THE FRONT, HIGH PRESSURE WILL  
BUILD ACROSS THE REGION INTO MIDWEEK.  
 
CARIBBEAN SEA...  
 
STRONG TO NEAR-GALE FORCE TRADES WERE CAPTURED BY SATELLITE  
SCATTEROMETER THIS MORNING, IN THE SOUTH-CENTRAL CARIBBEAN OFF THE  
COAST OF COLOMBIA. SEAS IN THIS AREA ARE CURRENTLY 8-10 FT.  
ELSEWHERE, MAINLY FRESH TRADES PREVAIL ACROSS THE EASTERN AND  
CENTRAL CARIBBEAN, WITH 4-7 FT SEAS. OF NOTE, SCATTEROMETER DATA  
ALSO INDICATES STRONG TRADES BETWEEN THE ISLANDS OF THE LESSER  
ANTILLES. IN THE WESTERN CARIBBEAN, MODERATE TRADES AND 2-4 FT  
SEAS PREVAIL. SCATTERED SHOWERS ARE NOTED IN THE VICINITY OF A  
SURFACE TROUGH ALONG 64W, CURRENTLY PASSING THROUGH THE EASTERN  
CARIBBEAN AT 10-15 KT.  
 
FOR THE FORECAST, HIGH PRESSURE WILL CONTINUE TO BUILD WESTWARD  
ACROSS THE WEST AND CENTRAL ATLANTIC TODAY. THE RESULTING PRESSURE  
GRADIENT WILL LEAD TO FRESH TO STRONG TRADES AND BUILDING SEAS  
FROM THE WATERS E OF THE LESSER ANTILLES TODAY, AND TO THE EASTERN  
AND CENTRAL CARIBBEAN INCLUDING THE PASSAGES ON MON. THE PRESSURE  
GRADIENT WILL WEAKEN BY TUE AS A COLD FRONT APPROACHES THE NW  
CARIBBEAN.  
 
ATLANTIC OCEAN...  
 
AN EXPANSIVE SUBTROPICAL ATLANTIC HIGH PRESSURE EXTENDS ACROSS  
MUCH OF THE BASIN. FRESH TO STRONG TRADES PREVAIL SOUTH OF 25N AND  
WEST OF 45W, INCLUDING BETWEEN THE ISLANDS OF THE LESSER ANTILLES.  
THE PERSISTENT STRONG TRADES HAVE BUILT SEAS OF 8-10 FT IN E SWELL  
WITHIN AN AREA FROM THE EQUATOR NORTH TO 22N BETWEEN 45W AND 65W.  
ANOTHER AREA OF FRESH TO STRONG TRADES IS IN THE FAR EASTERN  
ATLANTIC NEAR THE CANARY ISLANDS, WHERE SEAS ARE 8-9 FT. ELSEWHERE,  
TRADES ARE MODERATE OR WEAKER AND SEAS ARE 4-7 FT.  
 
FOR THE FORECAST WEST OF 55W, A STRONG COLD FRONT WILL ENTER THE  
NW GULF TONIGHT, QUICKLY REACHING THE SOUTHEASTERN GULF BY MON  
NIGHT AND SLOW DOWN AS IT MOVES INTO THE NORTHWESTERN CARIBBEAN ON  
TUE. STRONG TO GALE-FORCE N WINDS AND BUILDING SEAS WILL FOLLOW  
THE FRONT. GALE CONDITIONS AND ROUGH TO VERY ROUGH SEAS ARE  
FORECAST IN THE NW GULF, AND OFFSHORE TAMPICO AND VERACRUZ, MEXICO  
TONIGHT AND MON. GUSTY WINDS TO STORM-FORCE ARE EXPECTED OFFSHORE  
TAMPICO AND VERACRUZ ON MON. IN THE WAKE OF THE FRONT, HIGH  
PRESSURE WILL BUILD ACROSS THE REGION INTO MIDWEEK.  
 

 
MAHONEY  
 
CLICK HERE TO GO TO PREVIOUS BULLETINS.

The Nexlab TPC Page Main Text Page