The National Hurricane Center designated Tropical Storm Gonzalo at 2:00 AM Cape Verde Time on September 25, 2026, placing a Tropical Storm Warning over all of the Cabo Verde Islands.
Gonzalo is the seventh named Atlantic storm of 2026, carrying the designation AL072026. The storm grew out of Invest AL90, a monitored area of low pressure whose satellite imagery revealed a closed, slightly elongated low-level circulation accompanied by organized deep convection. Moderate westerly vertical wind shear pushed that convection toward the eastern and southern portions of the storm rather than near its center.
The National Hurricane Center set Gonzalo's opening intensity at 40 knots, or 45 mph. Scatterometer data showed maximum winds of roughly 40 knots in the storm's northeastern quadrant, while TAFB produced a Dvorak satellite intensity estimate of T2.5, equivalent to 35 knots. By the third advisory, issued at 2:00 PM Cape Verde Time on September 25, ASCAT satellite data from around 11:00 UTC had detected peak winds of approximately 45 knots in the northeastern part of the circulation, prompting the NHC to raise Gonzalo's intensity to 45 knots, or 50 mph. At 15:00 UTC on September 25, the storm was centered near 15.1°N, 22.7°W, moving north-northwestward at about 7 knots. Sea surface temperatures along its track were near 27 to 28 degrees Celsius (81 to 82 degrees Fahrenheit), and mid-level relative humidity stood around 60%.
Conditions were expected to deteriorate quickly. The NHC said vertical wind shear was forecast to exceed 30 knots later on the night of September 25, with weakening anticipated to begin by the morning of September 26. Mid-level humidity was forecast to fall into the 50% range and then to 40% as the storm moved along its track. Global models showed Gonzalo losing organized deep convection by late September 27, with the storm becoming post-tropical around September 28 and remaining a remnant low through September 30.
Heavy rainfall from Gonzalo could affect the eastern Cabo Verde Islands and the western African coast from Guinea-Bissau to Senegal through September 26, the NHC said. Flash flooding was considered possible along that stretch of coastline, with isolated flash flood concerns also noted for the eastern islands of Cabo Verde.