Atlantic system could strengthen into Tropical Storm Gabrielle

Forecasters at the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) are monitoring a developing weather system in the eastern tropical Atlantic that could become the next named storm of the season.

Showers and thunderstorms linked to a tropical wave several hundred miles west-southwest of the Cabo Verde Islands have begun to consolidate and show signs of better organisation. According to the NHC, environmental conditions are favourable for development and a tropical depression is likely to form late this week or over the weekend.

If the system strengthens further it will be named Tropical Storm Gabrielle.

At present the disturbance is drifting slowly towards the west-northwest at around 5 to 10 mph. It is expected to pick up speed as it tracks westwards or west-northwest, potentially reaching waters east of the Lesser Antilles by the middle of next week.

Forecasters currently give the system a 50 per cent chance of developing into a depression within 48 hours and an 80 per cent chance within seven days.

Communities in the Caribbean have been advised to monitor updates closely as the system evolves.

2025 Hurricane Season To Date

The 2025 Atlantic hurricane season has so far been unusually quiet. By September 1, six named storms had formed, compared with the average of around 14 by this point. Experts have attributed the slowdown to high wind shear and dry air in the Caribbean and parts of the Atlantic that have limited storm formation.

The season’s first hurricane, Erin, rapidly strengthened into a Category 5 system in mid-August before weakening offshore. Although it did not make landfall, the storm generated dangerous rip currents along the US east coast, leading to at least two deaths and one person missing. Its remnants later unsettled weather patterns across the North Atlantic, influencing conditions in Britain and Ireland.

A second system, Tropical Storm Fernand, developed on August 24 but quickly weakened and posed no threat to land.

With the season now entering its most active phase, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) continues to forecast between 13 and 18 named storms before the season closes at the end of November. Up to nine could reach hurricane strength, with as many as five potentially developing into major hurricanes.