Hurricane Ophelia is moving north across the Atlantic ocean, towards Ireland and Scotland and is due to affect only the northern part of the coast of mainland Portugal on Sunday, but only as a ‘post-cyclical cyclone,’ according to the Spanish State Meteorological Agency.
The phenomenon will lead to high winds and rough seas in the north but will not cause severe rainfall, the agency predicts.
The National Hurricane Centre forecasting model, which monitors tropical storms and hurricanes in the Atlantic, predicts that Ophelia will reach the Açorean archipelago and Portugal’s northern coastline on Saturday night to Sunday morning.
Ophelia currently has wind speeds of 185 kilometres per hour “which continues to increase the likelihood of its destructive effects when it reached the islands of Santa Maria and São Miguel,” according to the latest report from the Açores Weather and Forecasting Centre.
The Portuguese Institute for the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA) said that at 15:00 local time (add an hour for mainland Portugal) the centre of the Ophelia category 1 hurricane was 1,145 kilometres southwest of the Açores and that there was "an increase in the intensity of the wind in the last 12 hours", with an average wind speed of 150 kilometers per hour and gusts of up to 185 kilometers per hour.
"Cyclone Ophelia is already moving north-northeast at four kilometres per hour," read the statement in which the IPMA predicted that "in the next 48 hours it will maintain this direction and continue its approach to the Açores islands.”
The islands in the Açores central group (Faial, Pico, São Jorge, Graciosa and Terceira) have a low probability of between 5% and 10% of being hit by the cyclone but for the islands of the eastern group, the probability of the cyclone hitting São Miguel varies between 40% and 50% and in Santa Maria, between 60% and 70%.
For the Algarve, there is a low chance of rain on Monday, with Tuesday to Friday next week showing a 13% to 21% chance of rainfall. Wind speeds will be low as the hurricane heads north from the Açores passing well off the western coastline but affecting the north of the country with rainy, unsettled weather.
Ireland and Scotland will not be so fortunate as, if Ophelia continues as now predicted, she will arrive on Monday morning at full force.
