On September 17, the strengthening became faster and Helene quickly became a Category 2 hurricane that morning as the eye became clearer and surrounded by deeper convection. Helene also turned more northward and slowed down in the central Atlantic, which was because of a weakness in the subtropical ridge farther north created by Gordon. Because Helene turned north, the hurricane was moved away from any land areas. The strengthening kept going through the afternoon, and that evening, Helene strengthened into a large hurricane with 115 mph (185 km/h) and a minimum central pressure of 962 mbar. As shear stayed low and the oceans stayed warm, Helene got a little bit stronger. At the most, it was a strong Category 3 hurricane with 120 mph (195 km/h) winds early on September 18. At that time, Helene and Gordon were at roughly the same longitude in the open ocean. 