Ophelia regenerates into a tropical storm, heads for Bermuda

[News_Editor]

Ophelia regenerates into a tropical storm, heads for Bermuda

2011-09-28 22:02:26 GMT+7 (ICT)

MIAMI (BNO NEWS) -- Ophelia regenerated into a tropical storm over the Atlantic Ocean on late Wednesday morning, forecasters said, with further strengthening forecast which could pose a threat to the British overseas territory of Bermuda later this week.

Ophelia first emerged as a low pressure system in the far eastern Atlantic on September 16 before it strengthened into a tropical storm on September 20 as it headed towards the Caribbean. It eventually degenerated into a remnant low on Sunday but became better organized again on Monday and Tuesday.

"An Air Force Hurricane Hunter aircraft found that Ophelia has regained tropical storm intensity," said Richard Pasch, a senior hurricane specialist at the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC). "The storm has become better organized on satellite images with a curved convective band now evident over the eastern semicircle."

As of 11 a.m. AST (1500 GMT) on Wednesday, the center of Ophelia was located about 215 miles (340 kilometers) east of the Northern Leeward Islands. It is moving toward the north-northwest at a speed near 3 miles (6 kilometers) per hour, a general motion which is forecast to continue.

Ophelia's maximum sustained winds have increased to around 50 miles (85 kilometers) per hour, with higher gusts. "The environment ahead of Ophelia is not ideal for strengthening as moderate westerly shear is likely to prevail over the system during the next few days," Pasch said. "However, this shear is not expected to be strong enough to prevent some strengthening."

NHC models show Ophelia is likely to reach hurricane strength by early Saturday morning as it approaches Bermuda. Although the system could still safely pass the island, the Bermuda Weather Service has classified the storm as a potential threat.

Besides Bermuda, no land is currently being threatened by the storm.

Ophelia is the fifteenth named storm of the 2011 Atlantic hurricane season, following Tropical Storm Nate which formed in the Bay of Campeche in the Gulf of Mexico earlier this month. It made landfall in Mexico, killing four people.

According to figures released last month, NOAA's Climate Prediction Center is expecting an above-normal hurricane season in the Atlantic this year. The outlook calls for 14 to 19 named storms, with seven to ten becoming hurricanes and three to five expected to become a major hurricane (category 3 or higher).

An average Atlantic hurricane season produces 11 named storms, with six becoming hurricanes and two becoming major hurricanes. The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 through November 30, with peak activity in September.

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