4 Regions That Could Feel Developing Hurricane Gabrielle This Weekend
After a catastrophic hurricane season last year, regions such as Florida, the Gulf Coast, and the Caribbean islands are on high alert. A midseason lull cast a deep sigh of relief across the North Atlantic Basin. In fact, Sept. 10 marked the first climatological peak without a named storm in nine years. (To refresh: Hurricane season runs from June through November, with storm activity peaking from September onward.)
“Moreover, it’s the first time in over 30 years that there wasn’t a named storm over Labor Day weekend. And Northern Hemisphere tropical cyclone activity is down 60 percent so far this year,” as Best Life previously reported.
Hurricane Erin is the only tropical storm to reach hurricane-level strength in 2025 thus far. It fortunately never made landfall, although several states along the Eastern Seaboard recorded high levels of flooding. A hurricane season this quiet is extremely rare, but meteorologists warn Mother Nature may still have a few tricks up her sleeve.
Right now, meteorologists are closely monitoring a new tropical storm developing off the coast of Africa. According to an AccuWeather report shared with Best Life, Tropical Storm Gabrielle is expected to veer to the “west-northwest,” and by Sunday night could be declared a Category 1 hurricane.
RELATED: 4 Regions Where Hurricane Season Will Be the Worst This Year.
“After navigating through hostile conditions in the Atlantic, Tropical Storm Gabrielle was able to develop, despite disruptive wind shear and dry air in the area. This storm may intensify into a hurricane over the weekend,” says AccuWeather Lead Hurricane Expert Alex DaSilva. “It started as a massive tropical wave that was roughly 1,000 miles wide. Larger waves like this typically take longer to develop and organize.”
Tropical Storm Gabrielle is slow, but mighty.
Hurricane conditions, if any, aren’t expected until late Sunday night. As for which regions could stand in the storm’s path: “Gabrielle is forecast to pass north of the Caribbean islands and curve northward over the weekend, tracking east of Bermuda early next week,” per AccuWeather. A direct hit to the East Coast isn’t expected; however, “rough surf and rip currents are likely next week along beaches from the Caribbean and Florida to the Northeast.”
“Gabrielle is forecast to pass north of the Caribbean islands as it curves to the north over the weekend. At this time, we expect this storm to steer clear of the U.S. East Coast,” says DaSilva. “People in Bermuda should be on high alert and closely monitor forecast updates. This storm is currently forecast to track east of Bermuda early next week, bringing some rain and wind to the islands.”
Hurricanes are notoriously known for being unpredictable. So, “northeastern Caribbean and Bermuda should closely monitor the progress of this storm, as any shift in its track could bring stronger wind and rain impacts late this week or the early to middle part of next week,” warns AccuWeather.
As of this reporting, Bermuda is expected to get one to two inches of rainfall between Monday night and Wednesday morning, with wind gusts reaching up to 60 miles per hour.
Tropical Storm Gabrielle aside, meteorologists say there is a “low risk of tropical development” in the central Atlantic waters this weekend.
RELATED: 5 Regions Most at Risk for Droughts This Fall.
On the upside, AccuWeather has downgraded its 2025 Atlantic Hurricane Season Forecast predictions.
- Previous forecast: 13 to 18 named storms, with seven to 10 becoming hurricanes
- New forecast: 13 to 16 named stores, with six to nine becoming hurricanes
As a final note, “The forecast for three to six direct impacts on the U.S. has not changed, despite a slight lowering of the total number of storms and hurricanes,” per AccuWeather.