Ireland on alert as freak hurricane barrels toward British Isles

LISBON, Portugal — Hurricane Ophelia strengthened to a Category 3 storm as it passed near the Portuguese Azores archipelago on Saturday en route for Ireland.

“We have informed the American hurricane center that Ophelia has become Category 3, but that doesn’t change our levels of alert,” said Elsa Vieira, from the Portuguese Meteorological Institute’s (IPMA) regional service.

Ophelia, packing winds in excess of 180 kilometers per hour (110 miles per hour), passed some 150 kilometers (93 miles) south east of the Azores island of Santa Maria Saturday evening without making landfall, according to the US’s National Hurricane Center.

The storm, which has strengthened to Category 3 on a five category scale, is now expected to head northwest towards Ireland.

Philip Klotzbach, a hurricane specialist at Colorado State University, said Ophelia was “now a major hurricane” and was traveling the farthest east of any Atlantic hurricane on record.

The Miami-based National Hurricane Center said Friday that Ophelia was forecast to produce total rain accumulations of two to four inches (51 to 101 millimeters) over the southeastern Azores through Saturday.

The rainfall could trigger flooding, it warned.

Seven of the nine islands that make up the Azores were placed on red alert by the regional civil protection services between Saturday night due to expected rainfall of 40 millimeters per hour.

The local population, which totals 245,000, was told to stay home if possible during the passage of the hurricane.

All 17 firefighting units on the archipelago were on standby to intervene, a spokeswoman for the security services told AFP.

The authorities imposed traffic restrictions on the islands of Sao Miguel and Santa Maria, which were expected to see the worst of the hurricane.

Ophelia should no longer be a hurricane by the time it reaches Ireland, but will still whip up a powerful storm, the US hurricane center predicted.

Five counties in the west of Ireland will be placed on red alert for “severe” weather conditions from Monday morning to early Tuesday, the Irish Meteorological Service said.

People in those counties are advised “to take action to protect themselves” and their property.

Mean wind speeds in excess of 80 kilometers per hour (50 miles per hour) and gusts in excess of 130 kilometers per hour (80 miles per hour) are expected, potentially causing structural damage and disruption, with dangerous marine conditions due to high seas and potential flooding, the service said.

Parts of the UK, meanwhile, have been placed on yellow alert for Monday and Tuesday, the lowest warning level triggered by “serious” weather conditions.