MIAMI (AP) — Gabrielle strengthened into a major hurricane in the Atlantic Ocean on Monday but was forecast to remain away from land.
The Miami-based National Hurricane Center said Gabrielle’s maximum sustained winds increased to 120 mph (191 kph), making it a dangerous Category 3 hurricane.
The storm was located about 195 miles (314 kilometers) southeast of Bermuda. It was moving north at about 10 mph (16 kph).
Gabrielle had become a Category 1 hurricane on Sunday before it underwent intensification in warm Atlantic waters. The storm’s path was taking it east of Bermuda.
Swells from the storm reached Bermuda on Sunday and were impacting the U.S. East Coast, from North Carolina northward to Canada’s Atlantic coast. Forecasters said the swells were likely to cause “life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.”
This year’s Atlantic hurricane season has been relatively quiet and before Gabrielle there was only one named hurricane in that ocean. Experts say there’s a few reasons for that, but it doesn’t mean dangerous systems won’t form later.
The Atlantic hurricane season ends Nov. 30.
In the Pacific, Tropical Storm Narda emerged offshore of Mexico on Sunday and posed no threat to land.
The hurricane center said Narda had top sustained winds of about 45 mph (72 kph) and was about 160 miles (258 kilometers) south of Zihuatanejo, Mexico, while moving to west-northwest at 12 mph (19 kph). Narda was expected to become a hurricane on Tuesday, the center said.
