National Hurricane Center: Hurricane Gabrielle to slam Azores; dangerous swells to impact U.S. East Coast

Tracking the tropics: AM Sept. 24, 2025

FOX 35 Storm Team Meteorologist Brooks Garner gives us a look at the latest developments in the tropics as Hurricane Gabrielle continues to barrel across the Atlantic. Garner is also continuing to monitor the development of invests 93L and 94L in the Atlantic, as there?s now a high chance they will become tropical depressions in the coming days.

A Hurricane Warning has been issued for the Azores as Hurricane Gabrielle continues to barrel across the Atlantic toward the islands and European coastline as a monster Category 3 hurricane. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) says the storm is expected to bring life-threatening surf and rip current conditions to the U.S. East Coast. 

Tracking Hurricane Gabrielle

What we know:

As of 5 a.m. Wednesday, Hurricane Gabrielle was located about 1,360 miles west of the Azores islands. 

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The Category 3 hurricane is moving toward the east-northeast near 25 mph. Forecasters with the NHC say this motion, with some additional acceleration, is expected to continue for the next several days.  

Maximum sustained winds for the storm are near 115 mph with higher gusts, and hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 45 miles from the center, while tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 140 miles.

The estimated minimum central pressure of the hurricane is 959 mb.

What's next:

Steady weakening of the storm is expected during the next couple of days, but Gabrielle is still expected to be a hurricane when it passes through the Azores.

The NHC says the center of Gabrielle will approach the Azores during the day on Thursday and move across the island chain Thursday night into Friday.

Why you should care:

The Meteorological Service of Portugal has issued a Hurricane Warning for the Azores. This means that hurricane conditions are expected somewhere within the warning area.  

A warning is typically issued 36 hours before the anticipated first occurrence of tropical-storm-force winds, conditions that make outside preparations difficult or dangerous. 

A dangerous storm surge is expected to produce significant coastal flooding near the areas of onshore winds. The surge will be accompanied by large and destructive waves.

In addition, from Thursday into Friday morning, Gabrielle may bring 3–5 inches of rainfall across the Central and Western Azores. During the same time, outer bands from Gabrielle may also result in 1–2 inches of rain across the Eastern Azores.

Swells generated by Gabrielle will continue to affect Bermuda, the U.S. East Coast from North Carolina northward and Atlantic Canada over the next few days. These swells are expected to produce life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.

2025 Atlantic hurricane season

Big picture view:

The peak of the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season was on Sept. 10, but the most active months are typically August, September and October. 

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The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June through Nov. 30.

The next three names on the list are Humberto, Imelda and Jerry.