Hurricane Gabrielle is still impacting the NC coast. The latest forecast
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- Hurricane Gabrielle sends strong swells to North Carolina and East Coast areas.
- Rip current risks remain elevated along New Hanover and Outer Banks beaches.
- Gabrielle is the season's second major hurricane.
Hurricane Gabrielle continues to move east across the Atlantic, but its swells are having an effect on North Carolina.
As of 5 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 24, the storm was about 1,010 miles west of the Azores, moving east at 28 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center.
The storm had maximum sustained winds of 100 mph with higher gusts.
While meteorologists expect the storm will weaken in coming days, it will likely still be a hurricane when it passes through the Azores, which are under a hurricane warning as of Wednesday morning.
Hurricane Gabrielle impact on NC
Its swells are affecting Bermuda, the U.S. East Coast from North Carolina northward and Atlantic Canada, according to the National Hurricane Center.
- A high rip current risk is in effect from 6 a.m. Wednesday through the evening for coastal New Hanover County.
- There is a moderate rip current risk from Duck to beaches north of Cape Lookout and Onslow County beaches, according to the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Newport/Morehead City.
Tropical Storm Humberto forms
The National Hurricane Center has been tracking two disturbances in the Atlantic this week, and one formed into Tropical Storm Humberto on Wednesday.
There is a tropical wave over the northeastern Caribbean Sea. It is expected to bring heavy rainfall and gusty winds to the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico Wednesday, and across the Dominican Republic overnight. When the system gets to the southwestern Atlantic late this week, meteorologists expect it to turn northwestward.
The system is expected to form into a tropical depression when it is near the Bahamas.
When is hurricane season?
Atlantic hurricane season continues through Nov. 30.
Gabrielle is the seventh named storm of the season, the second hurricane and the second major hurricane. The first was Erin.
The next named storm would be Humberto.
This story was originally published September 24, 2025 at 9:48 AM.
