MIAMI -- 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 kilometres) 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 expected to cross over the island chain late Thursday night and early Friday, warning that a dangerous storm surge and significant coastal flooding could be expected in areas near a possible landfall. Gabrielle had maximum sustained winds Tuesday of 130 m.p.h (215 km/h) as a major hurricane and was traveling to the east-northeast at 21 m.p.h (33 km/h) with some forward acceleration expected in the coming days. Forecasters predict Gabrielle will bring up to 5 inches (13 centimetres) of rain across the central and western Azores. The weather center also warned the storm could churn up large and destructive waves near coastlines. The storm has powered up large ocean swells on Bermuda’s beaches after passing by that territory on Monday. The swells were also expected to continuing impacting the U.S. East Coast from North Carolina northward to Atlantic Canada over the coming days. Meanwhile, the Pacific hurricane Narda had top sustained winds of about 85 m.p.h (140 km/h) Tuesday afternoon, according to a hurricane center advisory. The Category 1 hurricane was centered about 365 miles (590 kilometres) southwest of Manzanillo, Mexico, and was moving west at 13 m.p.h (20 km/h). No coastal watches or warnings were in effect as the hurricane was expected to continue moving further offshore. Forecasters said Narda would continue strengthening Tuesday, but little change in intensity was expected Wednesday and Thursday.
