Hurricane Gabrielle intensified to a Category 1 hurricane on Sept. 21, becoming the second hurricane of the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season, forecasters said.

Gabrielle became a Category 1 hurricane after its maximum sustained winds reached near 75 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center. By 5 p.m. ET, the hurricane was about 320 miles southeast of the coast of Bermuda and was moving north-northwest near 10 mph.

"Additional steady to rapid intensification is forecast over the next day or so, and Gabrielle could become a major hurricane in the early part of this week," the hurricane center said in its 5 p.m. advisory.

Earlier on Sept. 21, forecasters predicted that Gabrielle could strengthen into a Category 2 hurricane with 100 mph sustained winds within the next 12 hours. The hurricane is expected to pass east of Bermuda on the evening of Sept. 22, according to the hurricane center.

No coastal watches or warnings were in effect as of Sept. 21. While chances of the hurricane hitting Bermuda were continuing to decrease, dangerous winds and rain are still possible in the area. The hurricane center warned that residents of the small mid-Atlantic island should be ready to react.

Swells from the hurricane were beginning to hit Bermuda and are expected to continue to build over the next few days, the hurricane center said. The swells are likely to result in life-threatening surf and rip currents.

States along the east coast, from North Carolina and north toward the coast of Atlantic Canada, are also expected to see swells along beaches beginning on the evening of Sept. 21 and continuing through the early part of the week. Rough surf and rip currents could cause life-threatening conditions, the hurricane center said.

Gabrielle was the seventh named storm of the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season and the first tropical storm since Tropical Storm Fernand formed Aug. 23. The storm began to form about a week after what is typically considered the peak of Atlantic Hurricane Season. Forecasters so far have described 2025 as a quieter hurricane year.

The hurricane center is also monitoring several other developing storms in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. A system in the central tropical Atlantic, southwest of the Cabo Verde Islands, could develop into a tropical depression as it moves northwest across the Atlantic over the next few days, forecasters said.

In the Pacific Ocean, a tropical depression is expected to form several hundred miles off the southern coast of Mexico. Forecasters anticipate it will move northwest along the country's coast, bringing heavy rainfall through Sept. 22.

Tropical Storm Gabrielle tracker

Contributing: Mike Snider, USA TODAY

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hurricane Gabrielle becomes the second Atlantic hurricane of 2025 season. See tracker.

Reporting by Karissa Waddick and Thao Nguyen, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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