Hurricanes Imelda and Humberto fuel rip current dangers along East Coast

NEW YORK - The National Hurricane Center (NHC) is warning people along the East Coast this week about rip currents, which are being produced by swells from both Hurricane Imelda and Hurricane Humberto.

Rip current risks were issued for beaches along the East Coast. Moderate and low rip current risks cover the south shore of Long Island through Maine.

"In addition, there will a HIGH risk for the development of dangerous and life threatening rip currents for the Jersey Shore and Delaware Beaches through at least Wednesday," NWS Mount Holly said in a post on X.

Hurricane Imelda update

Hurricane Imelda formed off the southeastern U.S. coast on Tuesday morning, and according to forecasters, the storm will likely strengthen and could become a Category 2 hurricane as it approaches Bermuda later this week.

"Could have been worse if these storms had tried to make landfall, but that's not the case," FOX 5 NY's Mike Woods said. "They're interacting with one another, as well as getting caught up in the jet stream, and therefore, they should be pulled out to sea."

Where is Hurricane Imelda now?

As of the latest advisory from the NHC, Imelda has maximum sustained winds of 75 mph with some higher gusts, and strengthening is likely to continue.

The NHC's latest forecast has maximum sustained winds forecast to possibly reach 100 mph, making it a Category 2 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale.

"There are small craft advisories and high risks of rip currents as those storms pass by offshore," Woods said.

Hurricane Imelda projected path

The center of Hurricane Imelda is about 755 miles to the west-southwest of Bermuda and is moving off to the northeast at 7 mph.

The NHC said that general motion is expected to continue on Tuesday, followed by a turn toward the east-northeast at a faster forward speed by Tuesday night. 

On that track, the center of Hurricane Imelda should continue to move away from the Bahamas and quickly approach Bermuda by late Wednesday.

Hurricane Humberto tracker: Where is the storm?

Meanwhile, Hurricane Humberto has maximum sustained winds of 100 mph, making it a Category 2 hurricane. At its peak, Hurricane Humberto had maximum sustained winds of 160 mph.

According to the NHC, Humberto is expected to continue to weaken on Tuesday before losing its tropical characteristics sometime on Wednesday.

Hurricane Humberto formed Friday, becoming the third Atlantic hurricane of the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season. Humberto is located in the open Atlantic Ocean about 275 miles southwest of Bermuda and is moving off to the north-northwest at 17 mph.

Hurricane Humberto update: What is the projected path?

The storm is passing well east of the U.S. mainland and west of Bermuda. 

Humberto will move northward until Tuesday evening, when it will begin to take a turn to the northeast.

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