Hurricane Ophelia, known as Storm Ophelia while extratropical, was regarded as the worst storm to affect Ireland in 50 years, and was also the easternmost Atlantic major hurricane on record. The tenth and final consecutive hurricane and the sixth major hurricane of the very active 2017 Atlantic hurricane season, Ophelia had non-tropical origins from a decaying cold front on 6 October. Located within a favourable 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 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 began weakening as it accelerated over progressively colder waters to its northeast towards Ireland and Great Britain. Completing an extratropical transition early on 16 October, Ophelia became the second storm of the 2017–18 European 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 of 17 October. The system then moved across Scandinavia, before dissipating over Norway on the next day.
Storm Ophelia strikes the U.K. and Ireland causing major damage and power loss.
On October 16, in the year 2017, Storm Ophelia strikes the U.K. and Ireland causing major damage and power loss. This event is recorded as a Historical Events event in the history of October 16, one of 493 recorded events on this date across all of history.
Key Facts
- This event took place on October 16, 2017 (AD era).
- It is categorised as a Historical Events event in recorded history.
- Referenced in 1 Wikipedia article.
- Wikipedia source last updated on 22 March 2026.
On This Date in History 493
This article draws on content from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
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