As September draws to a close, the Atlantic and surrounding regions are bracing for a dramatic shift in the weather, with multiple powerful storms swirling across the ocean and threatening communities from the Caribbean to Europe. According to the Associated Press, crews in the southeastern United States spent Saturday, September 27, 2025, making urgent preparations for an unnamed weather system expected to become Tropical Storm Imelda late that day or early Sunday. Forecasters warn that Imelda could strengthen further, potentially making landfall along the South Carolina coast as a hurricane early next week.
South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster sounded the alarm at a Saturday news conference, urging residents to pay close attention to official updates and take the threat seriously. "This storm is deadly serious. Not just serious. Deadly serious," McMaster emphasized, underlining the risks of high winds, heavy rain, and the potential for significant flooding. In anticipation, the state prepositioned search and rescue teams to respond rapidly if conditions deteriorate.
North Carolina, too, is on high alert. Governor Josh Stein declared a state of emergency ahead of the storm, which the National Hurricane Center in Miami has labeled Tropical Depression Nine. With memories of Hurricane Helene’s devastation just one year ago still fresh, officials aren’t taking any chances. At 5 p.m. EST on September 27, the developing system was positioned about 105 miles south-southwest of the Central Bahamas, creeping along at 5 mph with maximum sustained winds of around 35 mph.
The Bahamas, already battered by previous hurricanes in recent years, found themselves once again in the crosshairs. The Department of Meteorology issued a tropical storm warning for the northwest and central islands—including Nassau, Andros Island, San Salvador, and Long Island—urging residents to "make final preparations" as tropical storm conditions were expected to begin Saturday night. Rainfall forecasts were sobering: between 4 and 8 inches across the central and southeast Bahamas, with some isolated pockets potentially seeing up to 10 inches. The department’s statement warned, "Residents in low-lying areas should take actions to mitigate property damages due to flooding." Air force hurricane hunters were dispatched to gather more data on the system’s strength and trajectory.
Meanwhile, Florida officials kept a wary eye on the skies. A tropical storm watch was issued for parts of the Atlantic coastline from just north of West Palm Beach up to north of Daytona Beach. South Florida, having endured a soggy September already, faced the prospect of even more rain. In Homestead—a city devastated by Hurricane Andrew in 1992—Emergency Manager Jaime Hernandez warned against complacency. "Too many South Floridians who may have experienced limited impacts from storms that came close in recent years, such as Hurricane Irma in 2017, have come away from these events mistakenly believing they have ‘been through the big one,’" Hernandez told the AP. He stressed the importance of having an emergency plan and staying informed, noting that Homestead is one of only four communities in the continental U.S. to have endured a direct hit from a Category 5 hurricane.
The system’s impact was already being felt beyond the U.S. mainland. In the Dominican Republic, heavy rains triggered by the disturbance forced authorities to evacuate hundreds and declare a red alert in five provinces. Flooding in the southwestern province of Azua displaced at least 774 people, with 26 temporarily sheltered due to the overflowing Tábara River, according to Civil Defense spokesman Jensen Sánchez.
But Imelda wasn’t the only storm making headlines. Hurricane Humberto, which had already strengthened to a Category 1 hurricane on September 26, rapidly intensified into a ferocious Category 5 storm by Saturday afternoon. The National Hurricane Center reported that Humberto was packing maximum sustained winds of 160 mph and was located about 350 miles northeast of the northern Leeward Islands, moving west at 10 mph. Forecasters warned that Humberto could generate "life-threatening surf and rip currents" affecting the northern Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and Bermuda. The National Weather Service in Puerto Rico issued a small craft advisory, cautioning residents to avoid unnecessary trips and to heed the beach warning flag system due to the high risk of rip currents and swells up to 7 feet in Atlantic waters.
Humberto’s reach, however, extends far beyond the Caribbean. The Irish Mirror reported that Met Éireann, Ireland’s national weather service, took the rare step of issuing an early warning about the storm’s remnants as early as September 27. While Ireland was enjoying a spell of mild, settled weather—dubbed an "Indian Summer" by local meteorologists—the forecast was set to change dramatically. Met Éireann warned, "The remnants of hurricane Humberto could move close to or over us," an unusual move given that Irish forecasters seldom issue alerts for tropical storms before they cross the Atlantic.
Projections from the U.S. Hurricane Center indicated that Humberto would move toward the Bahamas and Florida in the coming days before swinging eastward across the Atlantic, possibly making a beeline for Ireland by the weekend of October 3 to October 5. Met Éireann’s warning emphasized the uncertainty in Humberto’s path but highlighted the likelihood of "heavy rain and strong winds" as the ex-hurricane approached. The national forecaster predicted that while the week ahead would remain mild with mixed conditions—some rain and drizzle, intermittent sunny spells, and temperatures reaching nearly 20°C—the weather would turn generally more unsettled and changeable later in the week and into the weekend.
Providing a detailed day-by-day outlook, Met Éireann forecasted a wet Saturday morning for Ireland’s east, with heavy rain and spot flooding in the northeast, followed by a brighter afternoon elsewhere. Sunday was expected to be mainly dry with sunshine, though scattered showers could develop. Monday and Tuesday would bring more cloud, patchy rain, and drizzle, with temperatures staying mild. By Wednesday and Thursday, further outbreaks of rain and drizzle were likely, especially in the west and north, as the unsettled pattern took hold.
Elsewhere in the Atlantic, the center of post-tropical cyclone Gabrielle was moving away from the Azores, prompting the discontinuation of a hurricane warning for the Portuguese archipelago. However, dangerous swells were still expected to reach Portugal, northwestern Spain, and northern Morocco. In the Pacific, Hurricane Narda was reported to be churning about 1,025 miles west-southwest of the southern tip of Baja California, maintaining Category 1 strength and sending swells toward coastal Mexico, Baja California Sur, and even Southern California. Forecasters warned that these swells could bring "life-threatening surf and rip current conditions" to the region over the weekend.
As the Atlantic hurricane season enters its peak, communities on both sides of the ocean are reminded that nature’s fury can arrive with little warning—and that vigilance, preparation, and timely information are the best defenses against the storms to come.