Hurricane Ophelia (2017)

Hurricane Ophelia

Category 3 major hurricane (SSHWS/NWS)
Hurricane Ophelia at peak intensity south of the Azores on 14 October
Formed	9 October 2017
Dissipated	19 October 2017
(Extratropical after 16 October)
Highest winds	1-minute sustained: 115 mph (185 km/h)
Lowest pressure	960 mbar (hPa); 28.35 inHg
Fatalities	3 direct, 48 indirect
Damage	> $1.18 billion (2017 USD)
Areas affected	Azores, Portugal, Spain, France, Ireland, United Kingdom, Norway, Sweden, and Russia
Part of the 2017 Atlantic hurricane and 2017–18 UK and Ireland windstorm seasons

Hurricane Ophelia (known as Storm Ophelia in Ireland and the United Kingdom while extratropical) was the easternmost Atlantic major hurricane on record. The tenth consecutive hurricane and the sixth major hurricane of the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season, Ophelia had non-tropical origins from a decaying cold front on 6 October. Located within a favorable environment, the storm steadily strengthened over the next two days, drifting north and then southeastwards before becoming a hurricane on 11 October. After becoming a Category 2 hurricane and fluctuating in intensity for a day, Ophelia unexpectedly intensified into a major hurricane on 14 October south of the Azores, brushing the archipelago with high winds and heavy rainfall. Shortly after achieving peak intensity, Ophelia entered a steady weakening phase as it accelerated to the northeast towards Ireland and Great Britain. Completing an extratropical transition early on 16 October, Ophelia became the second storm of the 2017–18 UK and Ireland windstorm season. Early on 17 October, the cyclone crossed the North Sea and struck western Norway, with wind gusts up to 70 kilometres per hour (43 mph) in Rogaland county, before weakening during the evening. The system made additional landfalls in Sweden and Finland before dissipating over Russia.

As of 21 October, at least 51 deaths have been attributed to Ophelia and its remnants; 48 of these were caused by Ophelia spreading wildfires on the Iberian Peninsula. Of the three direct deaths, all of which occurred in Ireland, one man and a woman were killed in two separate instances where trees fell onto people's cars. Another man was killed in a chainsaw incident while cutting a tree that was blocking a road. Total economic losses from the storm are estimated at 1 billion euros ($1.18 billion USD).