DELMARVA - The National Hurricane Center has officially upgraded the approaching Potential Tropical Cyclone 16 to Tropical Storm Ophelia.
The Center announced the cyclone's change to named tropical storm at 2 p.m. Friday. Ophelia had maximum sustained winds of 60mph at the time, according to the Hurricane Center.
As of 2 p.m., the Hurricane Center said Ophelia was located a couple hundred miles south of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, traveling North-Northwest at 12mph.
Ophelia’s center is predicted to approach the coast of North Carolina tonight, according to the Hurricane Center, before moving across eastern North Carolina, southeastern Virginia, and the Delmarva Peninsula Saturday and Sunday.
Tropical storm warnings and storm surge warnings remain in effect.
WBOC Meteorologists Dan Satterfield, Mike Lichniak, and John Conway will have further, extensive coverage and forecasts on Ophelia as the storm moves through our area.