Hurricane Ophelia is one extremely weird storm

Hurricane Ophelia is an odd storm. It’s a picture-perfect hurricane with winds around 90 MPH, but that’s not the odd part, of course. What makes this storm weird is its location. It’s way out in the Atlantic, where it’s usually too cool for hurricanes to develop—much less survive. Ophelia is so far off the beaten path that instead of heading for the Americas (as so many storms have this season), the system will evolve and threaten Ireland and the United Kingdom early next week.

Ophelia is our tenth consecutive hurricane in the Atlantic Ocean. The streak began with Hurricane Franklin in the middle of August and continued straight through three devastating landfalls in the span of a couple of weeks. We haven’t seen 10 hurricanes in a row in the Atlantic since the late 1800s, a testament to the tenacity and power of this overachieving hurricane season.

Ophelia is our tenth consecutive hurricane in the Atlantic Ocean. The streak began with Hurricane Franklin in the middle of August and continued straight through three devastating landfalls in the span of a couple of weeks. We haven’t seen 10 hurricanes in a row in the Atlantic since the late 1800s, a testament to the tenacity and power of this overachieving hurricane season.

This hurricane's roots didn't begin in the tropics like so many of the storms we’ve seen this year. Ophelia formed from a persistent low-pressure system that stalled out in the middle of the ocean last weekend. The system took advantage of a favorable environment to slowly develop tropical characteristics. Persistent thunderstorms developed near the center of the low, and temperatures throughout the core of the storm slowly warmed, meeting the criteria that defines a tropical cyclone. Hurricane Ophelia has steadily strengthened over the past couple of days. It was a decent looking storm by Thursday afternoon, sporting a classic structure and a well-defined eye.

READ MORE at:
https://www.popsci.com/hurricane-ophelia-british-isles#page-2

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