Ophelia likely to bring record 10th straight hurricane

A+large+boat+storage+facility+teeters+on+the+brink+of+collapse+after+being+ripped+apart+by+Hurricane+HarveyTexas+in+Rockport%2C+Texas%2C+on+Saturday%2C+Aug.+26%2C+2017.+%28Robert+Gauthier%2FLos+Angeles+Times%2FTNS%29

TNS

A large boat storage facility teeters on the brink of collapse after being ripped apart by Hurricane HarveyTexas in Rockport, Texas, on Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times/TNS)

The extremely active 2017 hurricane season has already spurred up 15 named storms, nine of them — in a row — becoming hurricanes.

Every tropical cyclone this season since Franklin back in early August has reached hurricane strength, ranking 2017 second in most consecutive hurricanes overall and first in the satellite era.

However, the National Hurricane Center is predicting Tropical Storm Ophelia to reach hurricane strength as early as Wednesday morning, which would make it the tenth straight storm to reach hurricane status.

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If Ophelia fulfills this prediction, 2017 will tie the record for most consecutive hurricanes, set over 120 years ago, according to Philip Klotzbach, a meteorologist at Colorado State University.

Although hurricane data dates back to the 1850s, methods of hurricane spotting were limited to where people could observe them either on land or by ship. It is likely that there could have been tropical storms in these years that were “missed” due to being over the open ocean, said Klotzbach in a post on Twitter.

This is just one of a few other records broken in this intense hurricane season.

Out of the nine hurricanes formed this season, five have reached major hurricane status. Of those major hurricanes, three- Harvey, Irma, and Maria- have caused widespread damage to parts of the U.S.

Hurricane season peaked on Sept. 10, but there is still a likelihood that more tropical cyclones could form between now and Nov. 30.

The next name in line for tropical cyclones is Philippe, and it would be the sixteenth this season, if one develops.

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