HAMILTON, (Reuters) – Hurricane Ophelia strengthened to a Category 4 storm as it swept east of Bermuda today, whipping up showers, thunderstorms and surf on the British overseas territory, forecasters said.
Ophelia, the third major hurricane of the 2011 Atlantic season, passed around 140 miles (220 km) east of the small, rocky Atlantic island of some 70,000 residents, which is a global reinsurance center.
Its maximum sustained winds increased to near 135 miles per hour (215 km per hour), making it a Category 4 hurricane on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale of intensity, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.
The Bermuda Weather Service lifted its tropical storm watch as Ophelia charged on northwards.
A tropical storm watch was in place for the Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland in Canada, which the Miami-based hurricane center said Ophelia would approach on Monday.
Earlier, officials at Bermuda’s international airport said some incoming flights from Miami, New York and Atlanta had been cancelled, but a flight from Britain was due as scheduled.
“We’re not expecting a big impact (from Ophelia),” one airport employee said.
The Bermuda Weather Service said the territory was experiencing gusty winds and showers.
“We have had rough surf due to Ophelia all day today and that is not expected to ease until after midnight local time,” weather service meteorologist Michelle T. Pitcher said in an emailed statement to Reuters.
The hurricane was likely to start weakening on Sunday as it passed over cooler waters, the NHC said.
Meanwhile, in the mid-Atlantic, more than 1,000 miles (1,600 km) to the southeast, Tropical Storm Philippe chugged northwestwards but posed no risk to land. Forecasters expect it to swing north next week on a predicted track that will keep it away from the U.S. east coast.
