Gabrielle becomes a hurricane, projected to stay over the Atlantic

Hurricane Gabrielle will remain a fish storm according to the National Weather Service's (NWS) forecast , moving on a northeastern path well offshore the U.S. East Coast.

The NWS announced Gabrielle as a hurricane yesterday and a Category 3 this morning—becoming "an impressive, well-organized hurricane" with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph, the forecast said. After some intensification today, cooler waters and higher shear will disrupt the storm tomorrow, which will likely begin weakening by Wednesday.

As for onshore impacts, Gabrielle will likely create rip currents for the shoreline along and above North Carolina during the next couple of days. The NWS also predicts strong gusts and swells in Bermuda. Find rip current risk for the U.S. at hurricanes.gov/graphics_at5.shtml?ripCu