Hurricane Nigel Continues to Slowly Strengthen

September 19, 2023

Nicole Madden,

Hurricane Nigel continues to slowly strengthen in the Central Atlantic as of the 5am update from the National Hurricane Center. Sustained winds are at 85 mph with gusts up to 105 mph.

It is located just under 700 miles to the east southeast of Bermuda. Dangerous swells will begin to impact the island today.

The storm will take more of a northerly track over the next 24 hours and continue to strengthen through Wednesday. It will turn toward the northeast and begin to weaken as it moves into cooler water and a higher shear environment in the northern Atlantic.

Nigel is forecast to remain a hurricane through Thursday, before becoming a strong post-tropical storm by Friday.

PREVIOUS UPDATE 5AM 9/18

Nigel is now a Category 1 Hurricane in the Central Atlantic. Sustained winds are at 80 mph with gusts exceeding 100 mph.

Hurricane Nigel will undergo rapid intensification as it moves through the warm waters of the Central Atlantic. There is relatively low shear across allowing this storm to strengthen quickly. It is forecast to become a major hurricane over the next 24-36 hours.

Nigel is the 6th hurricane of the 2023 Atlantic Hurricane Season. Don, Franklin, Idalia, Lee and Margot all strengthened to a Category 1 hurricane or higher. It is forecast to become the 4th major hurricane of the season, joining Franklin, Idalia and Lee.

By Wednesday, Nigel will begin to steer to the north and east as a strong trough guides the storm away from the US East Coast. As it moves into the cooler waters of the Atlantic it will weaken and become post-tropical by this weekend.

Nigel is the only active storm in the Atlantic Basin after Lee made landfall near hurricane strength earlier in the weekend near Nova Scotia.

Get your most up-to-date forecast and the latest on the tropics by downloading the WCCB Weather app.

PREVIOUS UPDATE 9/15 11AM

Tropical Depression 15 has formed in the Central Atlantic. It will likely become our next named storm within a few hours. Nigel is the next name on the 2023 Atlantic Basin Hurricane Name list. This would be the 15th storm of the season.

The storm will be moving through unseasonably warm ocean waters. There will be very little shear to disrupt further organization and it will rapidly intensify. It could become a hurricane before the end of the weekend and strengthen into a major hurricane by early next week.

All of this will happen over the open waters of the Atlantic. The projected path has the storm near Bermuda by late week next week, before taking a turn to the north. However, this is something that will need to be watched over the next few days.

There have already been 5 hurricanes in the Atlantic this season – Don, Franklin, Idalia, Lee, and Margot. Three of those storms strengthened into major hurricanes – Franklin, Idalia, and Lee.