Tropical Disturbance in Atlantic Could Become Storm Gabrielle: National Hurricane Center

If it develops wind speeds of 39 mph or higher, it would be the seventh named Atlantic hurricane system.

The yet-to-be-named system is located south of the Cape Verde Islands off the coast of West Africa and moving to the west as of Sept. 2, 2025. National Hurricane Center via The Epoch Times

Federal hurricane forecasters say a tropical wave in the eastern Atlantic Ocean could gradually develop into at least a tropical depression within the next seven days.

A tropical depression is a tropical cyclone with wind speeds below 39 mph. If the wind reaches 39 mph or higher, it is considered a tropical storm and is given a name.

The system is located south of the Cape Verde Islands off the coast of West Africa and moving to the west.

“Environmental conditions appear conducive for gradual development of this system during the next several days, and a tropical depression is likely to form later this week or this weekend,” the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said in a bulletin issued at 8 a.m. on Sept. 2. “This system is expected to move westward to west-northwestward at around 15 mph across the eastern and central tropical Atlantic through the weekend.”

Currently, the tropical wave has a 70 percent chance of becoming a tropical depression or stronger over the next seven days and a 30 percent chance within the next 48 hours, the NHC said.

It’s not clear whether the system will have any impact on the United States.

If it develops wind speeds of 39 mph or higher, it would become the seventh named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season and would be called Gabrielle, according to the agency’s list of storm names.

The last cyclone to develop and be named was Tropical Storm Fernand.

During the 2025 season, one of the six named storms so far has become a hurricane.

Hurricane Erin, which grew to a Category 5 storm, did not make landfall anywhere but prompted tropical storm warnings in several countries and parts of the U.S. East Coast last month.

In the Pacific Ocean, the NHC is monitoring Hurricane Kiko, a Category 1 storm that is around 1,800 miles to the east of Hawaii and moving to the west.

“Maximum sustained winds have increased to near 85 mph (140 km/h) with higher gusts. Additional steady strengthening is expected during the next day or two, and Kiko could become a major hurricane by Wednesday night,” the NHC said.

No coastal watches or warnings have been issued, and it’s not clear whether the system will make landfall.

In its last update, the NHC said that it updated the number of expected named storms to be between 13 and 18, including both tropical storms and hurricanes.

It also said that it is predicting five to nine hurricanes.

The center noted that the seasonal activity is not a landfall forecast as “landfalls are largely determined by short-term weather patterns, which are only predictable within about a week of a storm potentially reaching a coastline.”

Generally, the peak of a hurricane season runs from the middle of August into October, while the season starts on June 1 and lasts until Nov. 30.

Climatological peak activity generally occurs around Sept. 10, according to the National Weather Service.