UK spared as Hurricane Gabrielle veers toward Europe, forecasters say
Met Office says the storm could influence a rain band but is expected to stay south of Britain as it weakens over cooler Atlantic waters
Hurricane Gabrielle, a powerful Category 4 hurricane in the central Atlantic, has shifted away from the U.S. East Coast and is forecast to weaken as it moves toward western Europe, with Britain unlikely to experience extreme wet and windy conditions.
Gabrielle reached Bermuda on Sunday and had already battered the U.S. East Coast from North Carolina to Atlantic Canada, generating large swells that forecasters warned could produce life-threatening surf and rip currents along coastal areas. After a sharp turn to the right, the storm is now tracking back across the Atlantic toward the Azores, where it is expected to weaken on cooler waters before approaching mainland Europe.
Forecasters say any impact on the United Kingdom should be minimal. Chris Bulmer, deputy chief meteorologist at the Met Office, noted that Gabrielle might have a small influence on UK weather this weekend by altering how a band of rain moves across the country, but he stressed the system is expected to stay well south of the UK as it weakens toward Europe.
The Met Office also posted updates indicating Gabrielle will traverse the Atlantic this week, becoming an ex-tropical system before reaching western Europe, and that it could influence weather fronts into the weekend while the low itself likely fizzles out in the Bay of Biscay.
So far this season has been markedly quiet and has underperformed relative to many forecasts. Gabrielle is only the seventh named storm of the year, with less than three months remaining in the Atlantic hurricane season.
To date, Tropical Storm Chantal was the only system to make landfall in the United States, and Category 5 Hurricane Erin was the only other storm to reach hurricane strength prior to Gabrielle. Gabrielle’s emergence marked the end of a long period of inactivity in the Atlantic that hadn't been matched in 33 years. Forecasters pointed to a 19-day gap between the end of Tropical Storm Fernand and Gabrielle’s naming—the longest such stretch since 1992, when Americans were still recovering from Hurricane Andrew.
Looking ahead, officials say the risk to Britain remains low, with dry and milder conditions expected as high pressure nudges in for much of the week. While beachgoers should remain cautious about swells along Atlantic-facing coasts, official guidance is to monitor updates from national meteorological services as Gabrielle continues to evolve over the North Atlantic.