Tropical Storm Gabrielle expected to strengthen, cause rip currents on NC coast
Update: Find our latest story on Hurricane Gabrielle here.
Tropical Storm Gabrielle is expected to become a hurricane Sunday and though forecasters do not expect it to come anywhere near the U.S. East Coast, the swells the storm generates may affect North Carolina.
As of 11 a.m. Saturday, Gabrielle was about 615 miles southeast of Bermuda, moving at 13 mph. Waves around the center of the storm reached between 5 and 8 feet Friday afternoon.
With maximum sustained wind speeds of 60 mph, the cyclone remained a tropical storm. However, meteorologists at the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said the storm was expected to strengthen into a hurricane by Sunday.
Forecasters expected the storm to pass east of Bermuda Sunday night and Monday, far from North Carolina and the U.S. East Coast. However, the swells generated by Gabrielle have begun to reach Bermuda and will build through the weekend, the NHC said.
The swells are expected to reach North Carolina and northward late this weekend and early next week, leading to life-threatening surf and rip current conditions, the NHC said.
Most of the North Carolina coast, including Wilmington and the southern part of the Outer Banks, is at a moderate risk of rip currents Saturday and Sunday, according the NHC. That means life-threatening rips are possible and may appear suddenly. The NHC advises beachgoers to “remain in shallow water and beware of surf that can knock you off your feet.”
The northern Outer Banks, including the Currituck Sound, Corolla and Carova Beach, are at a high risk of rip currents this weekend, according to NHC data. The NHC advises swimmers of all skill levels to stay out of the water.
When is hurricane season?
The 2025 Atlantic hurricane season began in June and continues through Nov. 30.
Gabrielle is the seventh named storm of the season. The next named storm would be Humberto.
Forecasters at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted in August that there would be between 13 and 18 named storms this year. Of those, between five and nine could become hurricanes, and between two and five could be major hurricanes — identified by maximum sustained winds of at least 111 mph.
Erin was the first hurricane and first major hurricane of the 2025 season.
N&O reporter Twumasi Duah-Mensah contributed to this story.
This story was originally published September 20, 2025 at 12:41 PM.
