Hurricane Alex Forms, Becomes Earliest Tropical System In Decades (TWEETS)

A quickly developing tropical cyclone in the middle of the Atlantic has become Hurricane Alex, the first hurricane to form in January since 1938. According to the US National Hurricane Centre, this is the first January hurricane in the ocean since 1938, and has been dubbed “Alex”.

Hurricane Alex is located 490 miles (about 790 kilometers) south of Portugal’s Azores islands, parts of which are under a hurricane warning. The hurricane season in the Atlantic usually starts June 1 and lasts till November 30.

In 2015, the first named storm, Ana, – which was also classified as subtropical – formed on May 7.

The Atlantic Hurricane Season is still six months away, but the 2016 season has already spun itself into the record books. Conditions are expected to spread over the islands by Friday. He also says two other systems developed in December and survived into January: Alice in 1954-1955 and Zeta in 2005-2006. Sustained winds are estimated to be near 85 mph with tropical force winds extending 150 miles and hurricane force winds extending 25 miles. Plus, as National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration researcher Jim Kossin told the AP, “Alex formed in what was about 3 to 4 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than normal”.

Alex is now several thousand miles off the East Coast of the United States and is not expected to affect the U.S.as it should head farther north to Greenland once it departs from Azores, according to the advisory. The resulting instability is likely the main factor contributing to the tropical transition and intensification of Alex.

A Hurricane Warning is in effect for the Azores, and the NHC expects the storm to move near the group of islands on Friday. Well… a subtropical storm has both tropical and non tropical (sometimes referred to as extratropical) characteristics and typically has large wind fields.