Major Hurricane Gabrielle eyes Azores; other tropical threats could bring US impacts soon
Two new tropical threats are emerging across the Atlantic Ocean, one of which could approach the U.S. coast later this week. Both systems could gather names.
In today’s Forecast Feed, AccuWeather’s Bernie Rayno takes a look at the latest on the tropics.
Gabrielle came to within 175 miles of Bermuda late Tuesday and is now traveling well to the east across the Atlantic. While the powerful Category 3 hurricane continues to lose wind intensity, its next encounter will be the Azores on Thursday before possibly reaching Spain, Portugal and France as a tropical rainstorm this weekend. AccuWeather meteorologists are also expecting the formation of up to two new tropical storms by the end of the weekend, and at least one could directly threaten the United States.
Gabrielle rapidly strengthened from Sunday afternoon to Monday morning, intensifying from a 65-mph tropical storm at 11 a.m. EDT Sunday to a Category 3 hurricane 22 hours later—a 55-mph increase in wind speed. A hurricane is said to undergo rapid strengthening when the central winds in the storm increase by at least 35 mph in 24 hours or less. As of 5 p.m. Monday, Gabrielle had increased to a 140-mph Category 4 hurricane and maintained that intensity through Monday night.
The dashed red line represents AccuWeather meteorologists’ forecast path for the eye of Gabrielle. The gray shaded areas on either side of the forecast path represent alternative paths the storm could take based on changing steering conditions. Tropical storm and hurricane conditions will extend well beyond the track of the eye.
As of 8 a.m. Eastern on Wednesday, Gabrielle was at Categpry 3 intensity with sustained winds of 115 mph.
Earlier this season, Erin's increase in wind intensity from a tropical storm to a Category 5 hurricane in about 24 hours was considered one of the fastest on record. Thus far, there have only been two hurricanes this year, Erin and Gabrielle, and both became major hurricanes.
Gabrielle: A monster hurricane at sea
Large swells continue to propagate outward from the powerful hurricane over the North Atlantic. While these will primarily concern trans-Atlantic shipping and cruises through midweek, dangerous seas and surf will be a problem for small craft and swimmers around Bermuda.
This close-up image of Category 4 Hurricane Gabrielle was captured on Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025. (AccuWeather Enhanced RealVue™ Satellite)
As the hurricane approaches the Azores, building swells will lead to similar problems in the Azores from Wednesday to Thursday and then Friday to this weekend along the coasts of western Europe.
Since the hurricane is moving away from the U.S., rough surf and strong rip currents along the Atlantic beaches will ease by midweek.
Gabrielle forecast to bring hurricane conditions to Azores
A hurricane warning is in effect for the Azores.
Just offshore of the Azores, mountainous seas are likely as Gabrielle approaches just past midweek. Wave heights of 40-60 feet are likely. Fortunately, these huge waves will not reach the immediate shorelines of the islands, but a storm surge of 1-3 feet is possible.
"As Gabrielle approaches and passes through the Azores from Thursday afternoon to Friday morning, winds will generally gust 40-60 mph across most of the islands," AccuWeather Lead Hurricane Expert Alex DaSilva said. "However, near where the center of the storm moves, there will be wind gusts of 60-80 mph with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 100 mph.
Winds this strong can cause localized structural damage and power outages.
The AccuWeather RealImpact™ Scale for Hurricanes in the Azores is a one.
Beyond the Azores, Gabrielle will affect parts of western Europe this weekend as a tropical wind and rainstorm.
Rainfall amounts of 1-2 inches can produce localized flooding across portions of Portugal, Spain and the coast of southwestern France.
Exactly how much rain falls in western Europe will depend on the track and integrity of Gabrielle. Should a large swath of moisture develop, rainfall amounts of two to four times the projected 1-2 inches could occur. Should Gabrielle slow, stall and weaken just offshore, rainfall may be considerably less.
Two tropical systems could impact U.S. in seven days
There are two tropical waves that AccuWeather hurricane experts are closely monitoring that could become named tropical storms in the coming days, one of which is now associated with a newly formed rainstorm in the Atlantic.
Tropical waves are areas of showers and thunderstorms that march from the Indian Ocean or Africa and travel westward over the Atlantic. During the heart of hurricane season, one in three or four of these usually evolves into a depression, tropical storm, or hurricane.
The lead (farthest west) tropical wave has gathered showers and thunderstorms in a zone over the Leeward Islands on Tuesday. Should the wave maintain its integrity, these downpours and gusty squalls will progress westward through the British and United States Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and Hispaniola from Wednesday to Thursday.
Enough rain will fall to raise the risk of localized flash flooding and mudslides on the northeastern islands of the Caribbean. Gusty winds from strong thunderstorms can lead to sporadic power outages.
AccuWeather's tropical weather team of meteorologists will be watching this wave closely. There is a risk of low pressure developing just to the north or south of the islands, perhaps as early as Thursday. Should low pressure quickly organize south of the islands, more substantial impacts from rain and wind may extend farther to the west across Hispaniola and eastern Cuba.
Should the storm evolve north of the islands or wait until it reaches the Bahamas beginning Friday, only sporadic showers and thunderstorms would extend over Hispaniola and eastern Cuba.
In either case, the center of low pressure is forecast to move northward at some point late this week, and that is when the risk for direct impacts on the U.S. will ramp up.
This wave now has a high chance of developing and is of concern for the U.S., DaSilva said. Should it develop, steering currents could bring this storm close to North Carolina this weekend, unleashing strong winds, heavy rain and dangerous and erosive surf.
Should the storm reach the Carolina coast, it could also continue on to affect the mid-Atlantic and southeastern New England.
About 700 miles to the east of the first wave, there is a second tropical wave that is now associated with a newly formed rainstorm. The tropical rainstorm is tracking northwestward and will result in impacts for Bermuda late this weekend into early next week.
The rainstorm is expected to become a tropical storm on Thursday, and will continue moving to the northwest into early next week. Heavy rain and gusty winds will be possible in Bermuda starting Sunday night and into Monday. There can be a new round of rough seas and surf for the Atlantic beaches of the U.S. this weekend through next week.
Due to the proximity of the rainstorm and the lead tropical wave to the west, one storm would most likely be significantly stronger than the other. However, it is possible that both new storms may be named and active at the same time. In this case, if Gabrielle is still spinning as a tropical rainstorm, three systems could be active in the Atlantic simultaneously.
Beyond Gabrielle, the rainstorm and tropical wave mentioned, additional tropical waves will continue to roll westward from Africa while clusters of showers and thunderstorms attempt to organize over the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. Any of these areas could evolve into named storms.
The peak of the 2025 hurricane season may have arrived later than the historical average, but activity is clearly ramping up.
The next two names on the list of 2025 Atlantic hurricanes are Humberto and Imelda.
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