An extremely rare January hurricane is brewing above the Atlantic for the first time since 1938.
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Alex, the first named storm of 2016, started to spin about 350 miles south of the islands on Thursday afternoon, according to CNN. Little change in strength is forecast through Friday.
In this handout from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Hurricane Alex is seen in the Atlantic after being upgraded from a storm on January 14, 2016. An El Nino-related tropical storm formed southwest of Hawaii last week that was only the third such system to develop in January in over 40 years.
Tropical storms only usually form over warm waters and the Atlantic hurricane season spans from June to November. And yet a decidedly tropical weather phenomenon is taking place: an Atlantic Ocean hurricane.
Meteorologists have been watching Alex for almost a week after it formed off a frontal boundary off the southeast US coastline, he said.
Pasch says Alex could intensify a bit, but soon it will move into some really cold water, weaken and lose its tropical characteristics.
The Civil Protection Service in Azores has issued a weather red alert, the highest of four warnings that indicates extreme risk, for five of the archipelago’s nine islands. Flight cancellations in and out of local airports are expected due to the storm.
The storm is expected to dump 3 to 5 inches of rain on the islands, with 7 inches possible in isolated areas.
“These rains could produce life-threatening flash floods and mud slides”, the NHC continued. “Near the coast, the surge will be accompanied by large and destructive waves”.
There’s no expectation Alex will directly strike the United States or Europe.
On average, the first named storm in the Atlantic does not occur until July 9.
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It’s likely other January hurricanes formed prior to the satellite record, which began in about 1970.
