Tropical Storm Ophelia's Comeback

Tropical Storm Ophelia is the storm that just won’t die. But despite gaining strength at the start of this weekend, its threats are still minimal.

The storm has struggled in strong winds late this week, but as that wind shear died out on Friday, Ophelia gained power.

“After struggling early Friday morning, Tropical Storm Ophelia made a comeback,” wrote one Weather Channel forecaster. “That said, the environment ahead of Ophelia doesn't appear very favorable for significant additional strengthening into the weekend.”

Ophelia still poses no threat to the mainland United States, forecasters said.

Follow the latest updates on Ophelia.

The five-day prediction from the National Hurricane Center shows the storm crossing the Leeward Islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. After that, it could be on a path for Bermuda.

Check out this cool Weather Channel Hurricane Tracker.

“It's very unlikely that Ophelia will directly impact the mainland U.S.,” the Weather Channel forecaster wrote. “Interests in Bermuda should monitor the progress of Ophelia, for potential impacts next week.”

Late this week, Tropical Depression 17 formed off the coast of Africa. The storm does not appear to be headed toward impact with any U.S. coastline or any Atlantic or Caribbean coastal islands, based on early forecast paths.

Update (7:30 p.m.): Tropical Depression 17 has been upgraded and given a name. Tropical Storm Phillipe still is on a path to nowhere, and should have no impact on any coastline.

The 2011 hurricane season has been above average. There have been 15 named storms, but the season continues until late November. That’s plenty of time for more threats, so on Monday, Weather Service International increased its prediction for the number of storms this hurricane season.

“The 14 storms during the first half of the season occurred at a
near-record pace; and we have increased our numbers from 18 to 21 to account for the high first-half numbers,” said WSI Chief Todd Crawford, writing prior to Ophelia's or No. 17's formation. “Due to the reduced instability, we have reduced our hurricane total from eight to seven, while maintaining our major hurricane total at four."