Hurricane Gabrielle expected to make rare direct hit on Azores as it barrels toward Europe
A hurricane impacting the Azores doesn't happen very often. According to the FOX Forecast Center, since 1850, only 15 hurricanes are documented to have passed within 50 miles of the island chain.
Hurricane Gabrielle expected to impact the Azores in the Atlantic Ocean
A Hurricane Warning has been issued for the Azores as Hurricane Gabrielle continues to barrel across the Atlantic toward the islands and European coastline as a Category 1 hurricane. The Azores sit some 850 miles off the coast of Portugal, and forecasters have warned people there to keep an eye on the forecast as the hurricane moves closer to the archipelago in the North Atlantic. A hurricane impacting the Azores doesn't happen very often. According to the FOX Forecast Center, since 1850, only 15 hurricanes are documented to have passed within 50 miles of the island chain.
PONTA DELGADA, Azores – A Hurricane Warning is in place for the Azores as Hurricane Gabrielle continues to barrel across the Atlantic toward the islands and European coastline as a Category 1 hurricane.
The Azores sit some 850 miles off the coast of Portugal, and forecasters have warned people there to expect hurricane-force wind gusts by Thursday evening or early Friday morning, in addition to dangerous storm surge and coastal flooding.
A hurricane impacting the Azores doesn't happen very often. According to the FOX Forecast Center, since 1850, only 15 hurricanes are documented to have passed within 50 miles of the island chain.
If the storm makes landfall on any of the islands, it would be only the fifth hurricane to do so, after Gordon (2012), Carrie (1957) and two unnamed storms in 1940 and 1926. Gabrielle even has the potential to make landfall in Portugal as an extratropical cyclone by early Sunday.
Watch: Hurricane Hunters fly into Hurricane Gabrielle’s eye
A video shared by NOAA’s Hurricane Hunters shows crews flying into the eye of Hurricane Gabrielle over the Atlantic Ocean on Sept. 22, 2025.
Hurricane conditions, including torrential rain, strong winds and a dangerous storm surge, are expected to begin within the Hurricane Warning area by Thursday night and Friday morning. According to the NHC, the center of Gabrielle is expected to pass near or over the Azores on Thursday night or early Friday morning.
The NHC urged people on Thursday morning to finish their storm preparations.
"Preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion," they said.
(FOX Weather)
As of the latest advisory from the NHC, Hurricane Gabrielle has maximum sustained winds of 75 mph, making it a Category 1 hurricane.
Steady weakening is expected over the next few days, as the storm moves over the Azores. It's expected to lose its tropical characteristics soon after it passes over the islands as it encounters cooler waters and strong wind shear. Despite potentially losing its tropical characteristics, the NHC said Gabrielle would remain a powerful post-topical cyclone.
Hurricane Gabrielle is currently located roughly 455 miles west of the Azores and is moving off to the east at a rather fast rate of 32 mph.
(FOX Weather)
That motion, along with an increase in forward speed, is expected to continue for the next few days, followed by a slower eastward to east-southeastward motion this weekend.
On that forecast track, the center of Hurricane Gabrielle is expected to approach the Azores during the day on Thursday, and move across the island chain from Thursday night into Friday.
The NHC is warning that a dangerous storm surge is expected to produce significant coastal flooding near areas with onshore winds. That storm surge will also be accompanied by large, destructive waves.
(FOX Weather)
In addition, Hurricane Gabrielle may produce upwards of 3-5 inches of rain in much of the central and western Azores. Outer bands may also produce about 1-3 inches of rain across the eastern Azores.
Swells generated by Hurricane Gabrielle are also expected to impact Bermuda, the U.S. East Coast from North Carolina northward and Atlantic Canada over the next few days.
Those swells are expected to produce life-threatening surf and rip currents at local beaches.
Behind Hurricane Gabrielle, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) is also monitoring Tropical Storm Humberto and Invest 94L in the Atlantic.
The increase in tropical activity in the Atlantic comes after a weekslong lull in activity as we enter the final months of the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season.