The 2011 season

Hurricane Ophelia (2011)

Hurricane Ophelia reached Category 4 in the North Atlantic between September 20, 2011 and October 4, 2011, with a lowest pressure of 940 mb, and made landfall.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Hurricane Ophelia, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 2011 season in the same basin behind it, and its wind and pressure hour by hour. Every fix is in the track table below.

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The storm

Basin
North Atlantic
Dates
September 20, 2011 to October 4, 2011
Peak strength
Category 4, 120 kt (138 mph)
Lowest pressure
940 mb (27.76 inHg)
Landfall
Yes
Accumulated cyclone energy
18.7
Tropical-storm-force wind reached
250 nmi (463 km, 288 mi) from the center at its widest
Hurricane-force wind reached
40 nmi (74 km, 46 mi) from the center at its widest
Eyewall radius at its peak
15 nmi (28 km, 17 mi)
Overall size
240 nmi (444 km, 276 mi) to the outermost closed isobar
Peak gust in the best track
145 kt (167 mph)
Fastest the center moved
38 kt (44 mph)
Identifier
AL162011

Deaths and damage

No source this site reads carries a casualty or damage figure for this storm.

Track

Time (UTC)PositionWindPressureStatus
Sep 20, 06:0011.6N 37.0W25 kt1008 mbLow
Sep 20, 12:0011.9N 37.7W25 kt1007 mbLow
Sep 20, 18:0012.2N 38.6W30 kt1007 mbTropical depression
Sep 21, 00:0012.5N 39.7W40 kt1005 mbTropical storm
Sep 21, 06:0012.7N 41.1W45 kt1004 mbTropical storm
Sep 21, 12:0012.9N 42.6W50 kt999 mbTropical storm
Sep 21, 18:0013.1N 44.1W50 kt999 mbTropical storm
Sep 22, 00:0013.3N 45.2W50 kt998 mbTropical storm
Sep 22, 06:0013.5N 46.3W55 kt993 mbTropical storm
Sep 22, 12:0013.7N 47.3W55 kt993 mbTropical storm
Sep 22, 18:0013.9N 48.3W50 kt997 mbTropical storm
Sep 23, 00:0014.1N 49.4W45 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Sep 23, 06:0014.4N 50.5W40 kt1003 mbTropical storm
Sep 23, 12:0014.7N 51.7W45 kt1003 mbTropical storm
Sep 23, 18:0015.2N 52.9W50 kt1001 mbTropical storm
Sep 24, 00:0015.8N 54.0W45 kt1004 mbTropical storm
Sep 24, 06:0016.5N 54.8W45 kt1005 mbTropical storm
Sep 24, 12:0017.2N 55.9W45 kt1005 mbTropical storm
Sep 24, 18:0017.6N 57.0W40 kt1007 mbTropical storm
Sep 25, 00:0017.9N 58.0W40 kt1008 mbTropical storm
Sep 25, 06:0018.2N 59.0W35 kt1008 mbTropical storm
Sep 25, 12:0018.4N 59.8W30 kt1010 mbLow
Sep 25, 18:0018.6N 60.5W30 kt1012 mbLow
Sep 26, 00:0018.5N 60.8W25 kt1012 mbDisturbance
Sep 26, 06:0018.3N 60.7W25 kt1012 mbDisturbance
Sep 26, 12:0018.0N 60.5W25 kt1012 mbDisturbance
Sep 26, 18:0017.8N 60.2W25 kt1012 mbDisturbance
Sep 27, 00:0017.6N 59.9W25 kt1012 mbDisturbance
Sep 27, 06:0017.6N 59.5W25 kt1012 mbDisturbance
Sep 27, 12:0017.8N 59.3W25 kt1010 mbTropical depression
Sep 27, 18:0018.0N 59.4W25 kt1009 mbTropical depression
Sep 28, 00:0018.1N 59.5W30 kt1009 mbTropical depression
Sep 28, 06:0018.2N 59.6W40 kt1005 mbTropical storm
Sep 28, 12:0018.4N 59.8W40 kt1001 mbTropical storm
Sep 28, 18:0018.7N 60.1W45 kt1001 mbTropical storm
Sep 29, 00:0019.1N 60.5W50 kt995 mbTropical storm
Sep 29, 06:0019.6N 60.9W55 kt995 mbTropical storm
Sep 29, 12:0020.2N 61.4W55 kt991 mbTropical storm
Sep 29, 18:0021.0N 61.9W65 kt987 mbHurricane
Sep 30, 00:0021.6N 62.3W70 kt982 mbHurricane
Sep 30, 06:0022.4N 62.7W85 kt971 mbHurricane
Sep 30, 12:0023.4N 63.0W95 kt966 mbHurricane
Sep 30, 18:0024.6N 63.3W100 kt959 mbHurricane
Oct 1, 00:0025.9N 63.3W105 kt955 mbHurricane
Oct 1, 06:0027.3N 63.2W105 kt951 mbHurricane
Oct 1, 12:0028.9N 63.1W105 kt948 mbHurricane
Oct 1, 18:0030.7N 62.9W110 kt946 mbHurricane
Oct 2, 00:0032.8N 62.5W120 kt940 mbHurricane
Oct 2, 06:0035.0N 62.1W110 kt945 mbHurricane
Oct 2, 12:0037.4N 61.6W105 kt951 mbHurricane
Oct 2, 18:0040.1N 60.8W90 kt960 mbHurricane
Oct 3, 00:0042.8N 59.6W70 kt972 mbHurricane
Oct 3, 06:0045.4N 57.6W60 kt980 mbTropical storm
Oct 3, 12:0047.4N 54.0W50 kt994 mbExtratropical
Oct 3, 18:0048.9N 49.2W45 kt994 mbExtratropical
Oct 4, 00:0049.9N 43.6W40 kt994 mbExtratropical
Oct 4, 06:0050.6N 37.8W40 kt996 mbExtratropical
Oct 4, 12:0051.3N 31.9W40 kt996 mbExtratropical

Other North Atlantic storms of 2011

What this means

A best track is the record a warning agency settles on after the storm, not what it said at the time: position, maximum sustained wind and central pressure every six hours, revised against every observation that came in later. Category is the Saffir-Simpson scale, which runs from Category 1 at 64 kt to Category 5 at 137 kt and reads wind only, so it says nothing about surge or rain. Accumulated cyclone energy adds up the square of the wind through the storm's life, so it counts strength and duration together.

Sources

Storm history from NOAA NCEI’s International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship (IBTrACS), which merges the official best track of every warning agency. Live storms, cones, watches and warnings from the National Hurricane Center and the Central Pacific Hurricane Center. Archived radar from NOAA’s Level II archive.