Current and temperature variability of the Gulf Stream at 30¿N was observed with a subsurface array of current meter moorings from August 1980 to October 1981. Energetic current fluctuations in the 2-14 day period band accounted for 45--70% of the total observed variability. Flow perturbations in the cyclonic shear zone tended to have a cyclonic sense of rotation and were 180¿ out of phase from anticyclonic flow perturbations within the anticyclonic shear region. These fluctuations appear to result from northward propagating wave-like meanders of the Gulf Stream axis. The fluctuations do not appear to be directly related to local wind forcing. Observations of near-bottom flow on the Blake Plateau east of the Gulf Stream showed periods of prolonged southward currents lasting up to 40 days with speeds in excess of 30 cm s-1. The mean flow was also southward due to these strong events. The source of the southward flow is unknown. It may be connected to cold-core eddies that are not detectable in the surface with remote sensing or possibly a remnant of the southward undercurrent that has been observed beneath the Gulf Stream off Cape Hatteas and on the deep slope of the Blake Escarpment.