Ophelia regains hurricane strength

Florida, Georgia, Carolinas are told storm could loop back to hit coast

Tropical Storm Ophelia has regained hurricane strength and could become a threat to the southeast coast, The National Hurricane Center reported Friday.

At 5 p.m. ET, Ophelia was 175 miles east-northeast of Daytona Beach and about 220 miles south-east of Charleston, S.C. Maximum sustained winds had increased to near 75 mph.

Ophelia was listed as a Category 1 hurricane and was not expected to see a change in strength over the next 24 hours.

Ophelia briefly had been upgraded to a hurricane Thursday when its winds reached 75 mph � 1 mph over the hurricane threshold.