The 2017 season

Hurricane Ophelia (2017)

Hurricane Ophelia reached Category 3 in the North Atlantic between October 6, 2017 and October 17, 2017, with a lowest pressure of 957 mb, and made landfall.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Hurricane Ophelia, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 2017 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
October 6, 2017 to October 17, 2017
Peak strength
Category 3, 100 kt (115 mph)
Lowest pressure
957 mb (28.26 inHg)
Landfall
Yes
Accumulated cyclone energy
14.5
Tropical-storm-force wind reached
360 nmi (667 km, 414 mi) from the center at its widest
Hurricane-force wind reached
60 nmi (111 km, 69 mi) from the center at its widest
Eyewall radius at its peak
10 nmi (19 km, 12 mi)
Overall size
320 nmi (593 km, 368 mi) to the outermost closed isobar
Peak gust in the best track
120 kt (138 mph)
Fastest the center moved
45 kt (52 mph)
Identifier
AL172017

Deaths and damage

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

Landfall

Time (UTC)WherePositionWindPressure
Oct 16, 11:00Tralee, Munster, Ireland, 63 km away51.9N 10.4W65 kt (75 mph)957 mb

Landfall points the US agencies flagged in the best track. The nearest town is named from the site’s gazetteer, not from the report.

Track

Time (UTC)PositionWindPressureStatus
Oct 6, 12:0031.8N 39.5W20 kt1013 mbLow
Oct 6, 18:0032.3N 38.6W20 kt1012 mbLow
Oct 7, 00:0032.9N 37.3W25 kt1011 mbLow
Oct 7, 06:0032.7N 38.5W30 kt1010 mbLow
Oct 7, 12:0032.3N 39.5W30 kt1010 mbLow
Oct 7, 18:0031.5N 39.5W30 kt1010 mbLow
Oct 8, 00:0031.3N 39.5W30 kt1010 mbLow
Oct 8, 06:0031.0N 39.6W35 kt1010 mbLow
Oct 8, 12:0030.6N 39.7W35 kt1009 mbLow
Oct 8, 18:0030.4N 40.1W35 kt1009 mbLow
Oct 9, 00:0030.5N 40.1W35 kt1008 mbLow
Oct 9, 06:0030.9N 40.0W35 kt1008 mbTropical storm
Oct 9, 12:0031.3N 40.0W35 kt1008 mbTropical storm
Oct 9, 18:0031.7N 39.6W40 kt1005 mbTropical storm
Oct 10, 00:0032.0N 39.1W40 kt1005 mbTropical storm
Oct 10, 06:0031.9N 38.8W45 kt1003 mbTropical storm
Oct 10, 12:0031.6N 38.5W45 kt1002 mbTropical storm
Oct 10, 18:0031.3N 38.2W45 kt1002 mbTropical storm
Oct 11, 00:0030.9N 37.8W50 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Oct 11, 06:0030.4N 37.2W55 kt998 mbTropical storm
Oct 11, 12:0030.0N 36.7W60 kt994 mbTropical storm
Oct 11, 18:0029.8N 36.2W65 kt991 mbHurricane
Oct 12, 00:0029.9N 35.8W70 kt986 mbHurricane
Oct 12, 06:0030.2N 35.7W75 kt982 mbHurricane
Oct 12, 12:0030.4N 35.7W80 kt975 mbHurricane
Oct 12, 18:0030.5N 35.6W85 kt971 mbHurricane
Oct 13, 00:0030.5N 35.1W90 kt967 mbHurricane
Oct 13, 06:0030.9N 34.4W90 kt966 mbHurricane
Oct 13, 12:0031.4N 33.4W80 kt974 mbHurricane
Oct 13, 18:0032.0N 32.5W80 kt973 mbHurricane
Oct 14, 00:0032.6N 31.5W85 kt970 mbHurricane
Oct 14, 06:0033.4N 29.7W95 kt963 mbHurricane
Oct 14, 12:0034.2N 27.7W100 kt959 mbHurricane
Oct 14, 18:0035.3N 25.2W100 kt959 mbHurricane
Oct 15, 00:0036.4N 22.6W95 kt959 mbHurricane
Oct 15, 06:0037.9N 19.8W90 kt959 mbHurricane
Oct 15, 12:0039.9N 17.0W85 kt959 mbHurricane
Oct 15, 18:0043.1N 14.3W80 kt959 mbHurricane
Oct 16, 00:0047.6N 13.4W75 kt958 mbExtratropical
Oct 16, 06:0050.0N 12.1W70 kt957 mbExtratropical
Oct 16, 11:00 landfall51.9N 10.4W65 kt957 mbExtratropical
Oct 16, 12:0052.3N 10.0W65 kt959 mbExtratropical
Oct 16, 18:0055.3N 8.3W60 kt969 mbExtratropical
Oct 17, 00:0057.3N 6.1W50 kt977 mbExtratropical
Oct 17, 06:0058.7N 2.9W45 kt987 mbExtratropical
Oct 17, 12:0059.3N 1.5E40 kt994 mbExtratropical
Oct 17, 18:0060.1N 5.3E40 kt997 mbExtratropical

Other North Atlantic storms of 2017

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.