The islands’ Civil Protection Service issued a weather red alert, the highest of four warnings that indicates extreme risk, for five of the archipelago’s nine islands. The Azores are a group of Portuguese islands located 800 to 900 miles west of Portugal’s mainland.
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Packing maximum sustained winds of 85 miles per hour and churning northward at a speed of 20 miles per hour, Alex was expected to start lashing the Azores with high winds by Friday, meteorologist Dennis Feltgen of the National Hurricane Center warned Thursday.
The central Azores islands of Faial, Pico, Sao Jorge, Graciosa and Terceira now face hurricane warnings due to Alex.
A rare and impressive feat took place in the Atlantic Ocean today, as subtropical storm Alex turned fully tropical and became a hurricane.
The Atlantic hurricane season is officially from June 1st to November 30th. And yet a decidedly tropical weather phenomenon is taking place: an Atlantic Ocean hurricane.
On average, the first named storm in the Atlantic does not occur until July 9. Hurricane-force winds of 160-170k/hour and heavy rainfall are expected.
It is one of the earliest tropical systems to form in the Atlantic Hurricane Basin since records began.
The center of Hurricane Alex is expected to move over or near some of the islands by tomorrow morning.
Alex is also expected to generate a unsafe storm surge and significant coastal flooding near and to the east of its eye.
Pasch says Alex could intensify a bit, but soon it will move into some really cold water, weaken and lose its tropical characteristics.
As of Thursday morning, there was no expectation that Alex will directly strike the US or mainland Europe; it was predicted to head north, approaching Greenland early Sunday morning.
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Water temperatures are slightly above normal in the area of the storm, but are still below where a tropical system typically forms (currently around 68 degrees).
