Gabrielle strengthens into hurricane, prompts East Coast surf warnings

Hurricane Gabrielle strengthened into a hurricane Sunday afternoon, and forecasters warned the storm could rapidly intensify into a Category 3 over the next 24 hours. Even as the system moves away from the United States, its far-reaching swells and the threat of life-threatening rip currents prompted beach warnings along the East Coast from North Carolina to Maine, with hazardous conditions possible as early as Tuesday.

The National Hurricane Center said Gabrielle had sustained winds near 90 mph, and meteorologists cautioned that the storm could reach winds above 110 mph by early Tuesday. Officials said the system appears likely to stay offshore and not make landfall, but rough surf and dangerous currents will extend along the coastline and into adjacent offshore waters. Swells generated by Gabrielle are expected to reach Bermuda and then push toward the U.S. East Coast in the coming days.

Forecasters attribute the current track to a weaker Bermuda high and steering winds that nudged Gabrielle northward into the open Atlantic, reducing the odds of a direct hit along the Carolinas or Virginia. The hurricane is expected to move through an environment conducive to intensification, with less wind shear and ample moist air feeding its core. As a result, rapid strengthening remains possible through Monday night into Tuesday.

Surfers and coastal visitors should heed warnings for rough seas, and lifeguards have urged swimmers to stay out of the water in affected areas. Rip currents, often created when waves break and water recedes, can pull even strong swimmers away from shore, posing a deadly risk even far from a hurricane’s center. Officials warned that people should avoid beach exposure during peak swells and follow local advisories.

The broader Atlantic season has been unusually quiet so far, with Gabrielle standing as the seventh named storm of the year. Only Tropical Storm Chantal made landfall in the United States, and Hurricane Erin—the season’s only Category 5 so far—reached hurricane strength earlier in the year before Gabrielle formed. Still, forecasters cautioned that the atmosphere can quickly become active, and a pair of systems could soon intensify off Florida and along the same general path as Gabrielle.

A weak tropical wave moving toward the eastern Caribbean is being monitored by AccuWeather as a potential development, with some forecasts suggesting it could form into a tropical cyclone by the weekend should it reach the western Caribbean. DaSilva noted that any storm forming in the warm Gulf waters could quickly intensify into a tropical storm or hurricane in a matter of days. Separately, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and AccuWeather have flagged a 40 percent chance that the tropical disturbance near Florida could become a cyclone by the weekend, while another system along the same track as Gabrielle carries about a 70 percent chance of becoming a named storm in the next few days. NOAA had warned that the 2025 season could be above average, with more than 18 named storms and up to five major hurricanes, driven by persistently warm sea-surface temperatures across the Atlantic.

The Atlantic hurricane season runs through November 30, with the peak typically occurring from early September into mid-October. Forecasters said conditions in the Atlantic remain ripe for development, even as Gabrielle moves offshore, underscoring the ongoing risk of coastal hazards linked to tropical activity.