Hurricane Ophelia cyclone now Category 2

ON OCTOBER 16, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Hurricane Ophelia cyclone, could bring damage to Ireland and U.K.

Ophelia now a Category 2 hurricane, then Category 1 and eventually downgraded even more Sunday as it moved north-northeast across the Atlantic.

The NHC says the storm packs maximum sustained winds of 85 mph and its post-tropical cyclone is expected to dissipate near western Norway by Tuesday night.

Ireland’s Met Eireann weather service said the country’s southern and western counties could get gusts of up to 80 mph along with heavy rain and storm surges.

NHC said Hurricane Ophelia could bring 2 to 3 inches of rain in western Ireland and Scotland, with coastal flooding and “large and destructive waves” where it makes landfall.

Hurricane-force winds could reach the southern portions of Ireland by Monday afternoon, NHC said. It warned that “preparations to protect lives and property should be rushed to completion” by Sunday afternoon.