Ophelia has become a category four hurricane tonight as it blew past Bermuda. Top winds are now 135 mph. The central pressure is 944 millibars. This ties Ophelia with Katia as the strongest hurricanes of the year so far in the Atlantic.
The good news is that its strong winds remained well east of the island.
Tropical storm watches have been issued for parts of Newfoundland, which will receive a swipe from Ophelia as she loses tropical characteristics and races northeast on Monday morning.
Elsewhere, Philippe is in a hostile environment well northeast of the islands of the Caribbean. Philippe will continue westward through Monday before it finds a weakness through which to escape northward. It will probably weaken slowly over the next couple of days, barely hanging onto tropical storm status. I think it will make a comeback later in the week and it still could become a hurricane. If it does, it will be the fifth of the Atlantic Hurricane Season.
Look for additional activity around the middle of the month.
