Ophelia strengthened to a category two hurricane Thursday afternoon.

Located about 670 miles southwest of the Azores, Ophelia now packs winds to 105 mph with higher gusts. The central minimum pressure is 970 mb. After a few hours barely moving, Ophelia has started to pick up speed and is moving east-northeast at 7 mph.

Interests in the Azores need to monitor the situation with Ophelia, but it remains over open waters for now. The official forecast track brings it just south of the Azores this weekend as a category 1 hurricane, then quickly moving northeast into cooler waters early next week. At that time, it will become post-tropical but could impact Ireland and Scotland with wind and rain.

It will NOT be a threat to the U.S. at any point in its lifecycle.

 

Spectrum News 13 Interactive Storm Tracker