AlQa'dah 2, 1432, Sep 30, 2011, SPA -- Hurricane Ophelia was rapidly strengthening Friday and was expected to pass east of Bermuda in the Atlantic Ocean, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center (NHC) said. At 1200 GMT, Ophelia had winds approaching 169 kilometers per hour (kph), the NHC said. The center of the storm was about 1,070 kilometers south of Bermuda, and it was moving north-northwest at about 15 kph. It was expected to accelerate and pass east of Bermuda on Saturday. Ophelia reached hurricane strength Thursday afternoon and became a Category-2 hurricane by Friday. It is the fourth hurricane of the Atlantic season.
