After becoming a subtropical cyclone, Gabrielle was in an area with cooler air to the north, dry air to the south and west, some wind shear, and cooler water temperatures along the storm's path. These conditions made it so the storm could not strengthen much. However, a curved line of thunderstorms formed in the storm's northern and western sections, and the circulation became better organized. Later, the rainbands died out, leaving the center of the low pressure system far away from the area of thunderstorms. To be a strong tropical cyclone, the center and the thunderstorms need to be located over each other. Soon, the storm began to gain more strength, and it was renamed to Tropical Storm Gabrielle on September 7 while located about 185 miles (300 km) southeast of Cape Lookout, North Carolina.