Tech: Hurricane Ophelia is headed toward Europe

Ophelia's strength means 2017 has tied the record for the most consecutive hurricanes. The storm is heading toward Spain and Portugal.

Hurricane Ophelia is the latest weather system to whip up winds and rain in the Atlantic. But the storm is heading east toward the northwest coast of Spain instead of crossing the Atlantic toward the hurricane-ravaged Caribbean.

Ophelia officially gained hurricane status on Wednesday evening, according to the National Hurricane Center.

As of Wednesday evening, Ophelia was moving east at about 3 mph and was expected to gradually turn northeast. Its sustained wind speeds are 75 mph with higher gusts. The storm may still strengthen over the next two days.

Some of Ophelia's rain bands are likely to hit the Azores islands over the weekend. Ophelia's projected path then takes it close to Spain and Portugal on the Iberian Peninsula, but current forecasts suggest the storm will most likely remain offshore. It's still early, though, and the path could change.

Only two known storms have hit the Iberian Peninsula — one in 1842, and one in 2005. The most recent was a tropical depression that was previously Hurricane Vince.

After Ophelia moves past Spain, forecasters say it could hit the Irish coast on Monday as an extra-tropical storm, potentially still with close to hurricane-strength winds.

This is the 10th consecutive storm to reach hurricane strength in the Atlantic this season, which ties the record also met in 1878, 1886 and 1893.

There are a couple of caveats to that record, however, as Brian Donegan, a Weather Channel meteorologist, recently wrote: A streak-disrupting tropical storm could easily have been missed in those 19th-century years, and this season's Hurricane Lee might be reevaluated to count as two storms.

There have been 15 named storms so far this hurricane season, including Ophelia. That stat — combined with the number of major hurricanes we've seen and the overall cyclone energy generated by the storms — make this an extremely active Atlantic hurricane season by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's standards. Hurricane season continues until November 30.

Ophelia's strength means 2017 has tied the record for the most consecutive hurricanes. The storm is heading toward Spain and Portugal. Read Full Story