Rare January hurricane forms in the Atlantic

Alex, a rare January Atlantic hurricane, weakened to a tropical storm Friday as it struck and left the Azores Islands.

But the emergence of Hurricane Alex is the first time since 1938 that a hurricane has formed in January in the Atlantic, according to the hurricane centre, which has records going back to 1851.

The Atlantic hurricane season officially runs from June 1 to November 30, though that doesn’t mean tropical systems can not pop up at other times. It’s even less common when such a storm strengthens into a hurricane, which often thrive most over warm waters.

A hurricane warning was issued for the central Azores, a cluster of islands about 900 miles west of Portugal.

Hurricane Alex is forming in the middle of the ocean and could bring 18ft high waves and 100mph winds.

The Azores Meteorological Service has issued a “red alert” warning for the islands of Faial, Pico, São Jorge, Graciosa, and Terceira which form the central island group.

The National Hurricane Center says Alex is the first hurricane to form in January since 1938.

The archipelago, which has a population of around 250,000, has been threatened by hurricanes before, but they usually lose their strength as they move into colder northern water. 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”.

Tropical-storm-force winds are expected to begin over portions of the Azores tonight.

Authorities have warned of the risk of landslides, flash-flooding and “significant coastal flooding”.

As already clarified earlier, Hurricane Alex is 2300 miles away from the United States coast and it would have little effect on the weather conditions in the country.

The 2016 hurricane season has started early in the Atlantic.

The El Nino event that has been helping to boring the worst of the US winter weather won’t dissipate for several more months, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Climate Prediction Center (CPC), potentially bad news for anyone hoping for higher natural gas prices.