The Atlantic is suddenly buzzing with tropical activity. Hurricane Gabrielle has exploded into a Category 4 storm east of Bermuda, and two more potential tropical systems — one nearing the Caribbean and another farther east — could follow this week.
Neither new disturbance is an immediate threat to land, but the area of storminess near the Leeward Islands and Bahamas is the wild card, with a future US impact possible if atmospheric conditions line up. The eastern system looks more likely to curve out to sea, though it’s too early to say that for certain.
Gabrielle, the second major hurricane in the Atlantic basin this year, was packing 140 mph winds early Tuesday. Its core of damaging winds is expected to stay offshore of Bermuda, though the island could see rain and gusty winds in addition to large swells from the storm.
The hurricane will also generate rough seas and dangerous rip currents along much of the US East Coast, from North Carolina to New England, through midweek.
Two areas of stormy weather in the central Atlantic are being tracked by the National Hurricane Center with the potential of becoming the next named storms.
The stormy area farthest east is steadily organising and has a high chance of strengthening into a tropical depression or tropical storm Wednesday or Thursday.
Conditions in the atmosphere and ocean around it are becoming more favourable for development, making it likely to become the next named system of the season.
The next names on the Atlantic season’s 2025 list are Humberto and Imelda.
The other area of showers and thunderstorms is about 250 miles east of the Lesser Antilles and is weaker and less organised. It has a medium chance to develop into a tropical depression late this week near The Bahamas. Before that, it could deliver bursts of rain and wind as it sweeps across the Leeward Islands.
Because they aren’t organised yet, the potential systems’ paths are very difficult to predict. But weather models are hinting at some options.
The area with the high chance to develop could ultimately take a curved path similar to Gabrielle that brings it near Bermuda next week. More options are on the table for the medium-chance disturbance, which could become a short-lived system near The Bahamas, or it could survive longer and adopt a Hurricane Erin-like track hugging the US East Coast.
September is the traditional peak of Atlantic hurricane season and activity often ramps up quickly this time of year. While the 2025 season has had a much slower start than anticipated, both hurricanes that did develop – Erin and Gabrielle – underwent explosive rapid intensification over warm ocean water. Rapid intensification has become far more common in recent years as the planet warms due to fossil fuel pollution.
Erin and Gabrielle both hit major-hurricane status (Category 3 or above). The last time a season’s first two hurricanes were major hurricanes was 2011, with Irene and Katia, according to Dr. Phil Klotzbach, a hurricane expert and research scientist at Colorado State University.
So don’t mistake a late start for a quiet finish. With two more potential storms brewing and plenty of warm ocean ahead, the tropical Atlantic season may have just found the gas pedal. (CNN)
