Hurricane Gonzalo intensified more rapidly on Tuesday and it reached Major Hurricane intensity on Tuesday afternoon.  At 11:00 p.m. EDT the center of Hurricane Gonzalo was located at latitude 22.2°N and longitude 66.6°W which put it about 705 miles south of Bermuda.  Gonzalo was moving toward the northwest at 13 m.p.h.  The maximum sustained wind speed was 125 m.p.h., which made Gonzalo a Category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Scale.  The minimum surface pressure was 954 mb.  Gonzalo is now the strongest Atlantic hurricane so far in 2014.  A Hurricane Watch has been issued for Bermuda.

Gonzalo is still being steered by the subtropical high pressure system.  As it reaches the western end of the high, it will turn more toward the north.  Numerical models continue to indicate that southwesterly winds on the eastern side of a large upper trough moving over the eastern U.S. will turn Gonzalo toward the northeast later this week.  Gonzalo could be approaching Bermuda by Friday.

A smaller upper low located west of Gonzalo is creating some wind shear over the hurricane, but clearly the shear did not inhibit rapid intensification on Tuesday.  Gonzalo will be moving over warm Sea Surface Temperatures and so some further intensification is possible.  There could be some fluctuations in intensity if an eyewall replacement cycle starts to develop.  Eventually, the same upper level trough that should turn Gonzalo toward the northeast will generate stronger upper level winds and more wind shear.  Current guidance indicates that Gonzalo will still be a hurricane when it approaches Bermuda.