Hurricane Gabrielle continued to strengthen Monday as it tracked northward in the Atlantic, with forecasters expecting the storm to pass east of Bermuda Monday night, according to the National Hurricane Center.
As of 11 a.m. AST, Gabrielle’s center was located near latitude 30.8 North, longitude 62.3 West, moving north at about 10 mph. The storm had maximum sustained winds near 120 mph, making it a Category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.
Hurricane Gabrielle is expected to strengthen further on Monday before gradually weakening by Wednesday, the NHC said.
Hurricane-force winds extended outward up to 25 miles from the center, with tropical-storm-force winds reaching as far as 140 miles. The estimated minimum central pressure was 955 millibars.
Forecasters said Gabrielle is expected to turn northeast by late Monday before accelerating east-northeastward Tuesday and Wednesday. The system is expected to begin extratropical transition Friday as it nears the Azores.
Swells generated by Gabrielle are already impacting Bermuda and have reached the U.S. East Coast from North Carolina northward, as well as Atlantic Canada, the NHC said. These swells are expected to continue through the early part of the week and are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.
Bermuda could experience gusty winds and scattered showers Monday and Tuesday as Hurricane Gabrielle passes to the east.
The NHC advised interests in the Azores to monitor Gabrielle’s progress, though it is too soon to determine the magnitude of potential impacts there.