000 AXPZ20 KNHC 080333 TWDEP   Tropical Weather Discussion NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL 0405 UTC Fri Mar 08 2024  Tropical Weather Discussion for the eastern Pacific Ocean from 03.4S to 30N, east of 120W including the Gulf of California, and from the Equator to 30N, between 120W and 140W. The following information is based on satellite imagery, weather observations, radar, and meteorological analysis.  Based on 0000 UTC surface analysis and satellite imagery through 0315 UTC.  ...INTERTROPICAL CONVERGENCE ZONE/MONSOON TROUGH...  A trough extends from northwest Colombia, southwestward to 07N78W  to 06N83W and to 05N90W, where latest scatterometer data indicates that it transitions to the ITCZ and continues to 04N105W to 02N113W to 01N122W to 01N134W to 04N140W. Scattered moderate convection is within 30 nm of the ITCZ between 94W-96W.  ...OFFSHORE WATERS WITHIN 250 NM OF MEXICO...  The earlier fresh to strong southwest to west winds that were  over the northern Gulf of California have diminished to fresh  speeds. Seas with these winds are 2-4 ft. High pressure remains  the dominate synoptic weather feature over the waters west  of Baja California. Moderate to fresh northwest winds are  present over these waters. Seas of 5 to 7 ft are south of Punta  Eugenia to near 18N while higher seas of 8-12 ft due to  northwest swell are north of Punta Eugenia. Elsewhere, gentle to moderate west to northwest winds are noted along with seas of  4-6 ft.  For the forecast, the moderate to fresh northwest winds will diminish to gentle to moderate speeds on Fri. The 8 to 12 ft  seas will slowly subside to 6-9 ft by late on Fri and to 4 to 7  ft bay late on Sat. Looking ahead, high pressure building  southward over the western Gulf of Mexico in the wake of a cold  front will tighten the gradient in southeastern Mexico leading  to gale-force gap winds in the Gulf of Tehunatepec Sun through  late Sun night. These winds are expected to generate rough seas  downstream from the Gulf of Tehuantepec region.  ...OFFSHORE WATERS WITHIN 250 NM OF CENTRAL AMERICA, COLOMBIA,  AND WITHIN 750 NM OF ECUADOR  Light to gentle winds along with moderate seas persist across  the region.  For the forecast, gentle to moderate winds will persist across the  region through the weekend, with late night or early morning  pulses of locally fresh winds in the Papagayo region. High  pressure building toward the western Caribbean may lead to strong gap winds in the Papagayo region by Mon.   ...REMAINDER OF THE AREA...  High pressure is also the dominate synoptic weather feature across this part of the area. Latest ASCAT satellite data passes  reveal quite an extensive swath of fresh to strong trade winds  over the western part of the area from 07N to 20N west of about  126W. Seas with these winds are 8 to 11 ft due to a combination  of mixed north and east swell with wind generated waves from the  trade winds. Gentle to moderate north to northeast winds along  with moderate seas are elsewhere.  For the forecast, the aforementioned fresh to strong trade winds  over the western part of the area will diminish some in coverage on Fri, then increase again beginning late Fri night and through the weekend. Seas over this part of the area will change little  through the weekend. Looking ahead, a large set of northwest  swell is forecast to begin to intrude into the far northwest  corner of the area starting early Sat and continue to advance  through the northwest and north-central waters into Sun. Seas  with this swell will be 8-12 ft through late Sat, with the  highest of the seas to be confined over the northwest part of the area. It appears that the southern extent of the swell set  will merge with the swell that is over the western part of the  area on late Sat night into Sun. Yet another large set of  northwest swell is indicated by the Wave models to begin to  approach the far northwest corner late Sun night with seas also  peaking to 12 ft.  $$ Aguirre