Hurricane Gabrielle spins toward the Azores in the Atlantic as Hurricane Narda moves off Mexico

MIAMI (AP) — Hurricane Gabrielle churned Tuesday afternoon across open Atlantic waters ever closer to the Azores as forecasters warned residents of the volcanic archipelago to be on guard for a possible strike later in the week.

In the Pacific, Narda was upgraded to a hurricane off the west coast of Mexico after steady strengthening while moving away from land, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

In the North Atlantic, a hurricane watch was issued for all of the Azores chain ahead of Gabrielle. Currently a dangerous Category 4 hurricane, Gabrielle was centered about 1,635 miles (2,630 kilometers) west of the island chain by Tuesday afternoon and was expected to still be a hurricane upon its approach there Thursday.

Forecasters at the Miami-based hurricane center said Gabrielle was