Ophelia strengthened into a Category 2 hurricane forecast to strike Ireland, where one of the nation’s strongest storms since Hurricane Debbie in 1961 threatens everything from farms to a golf course owned by the family of President Trump.

Ophelia’s top winds had risen to 105 mph by 10 a.m. London time Friday. The storm, about 615 miles southwest of the Azores, is forecast to weaken over the next 48 hours before approaching Ireland on Monday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

After Hurricane Irma closed Trump’s Mar-A-Lago in Florida last month, Ophelia could make landfall close to the Trump family’s golf resort near the village of Doonbeg. The resort, which has said it can lose as much as 32 feet of land to coastal erosion during a bad storm, is along the route expected to be hit by Ophelia’s gale force winds. Trump International Golf Links & Hotel is constantly reviewing the situation, a spokesman said by email.

“At the moment, in one model the actual center in Ophelia is basically supposed to rub the west coast of Ireland,” said David Reynolds, senior meteorologist at The Weather Co. In Birmingham, England. “It’s really touch and go.”


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