Ophelia gathers force, threatens US coast

Tropical Storm Ophelia strengthened into a hurricane again today as it charted a course that could lead it to the Atlantic coast of the US.

Forecasters have urged residents from northern Florida to the Carolinas to keep close watch on Ophelia’s path over the next few days.

A hurricane watch was issued from north of the Savannah River in South Carolina to Cape Lookout in North Carolina, meaning hurricane-force winds of at least 74mph (119kph) were possible by Sunday evening.

At 11am EDT (3pm Irish time), Ophelia had top sustained winds of 80mph (129kph) and was moving north-east near 3mph. It was expected to stay on that track through the day.