The National Hurricane Center upgraded a storm in the eastern Atlantic Ocean to hurricane status on Thursday morning, a rarity for January. Another record that Hurricane Alex can boast of is the fact that it is only the fourth storm ever to arrive in the atlantic in the month of January since 1851 – the year since which weather records began. At 4 p.m. today, the National Hurricane Center announced Subtropical Storm Alex had developed over the eastern Atlantic Ocean. From a climatological perspective, this makes flawless sense, as tropical cyclones generally draw their power from the warmer waters near the equator during the warmest time of the year.
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NOAA scientists have said El Nino was the leading climate factor influencing the 2015 Atlantic hurricane season, which ended November 30 after a below-normal 11 named storms, four of which became hurricanes, two of them major hurricanes (Category 3 or higher). Alex is centered about 560 miles south-southwest of the Azores and is approaching the island chain at a rate of 18 mph.
Forecasting services expect winds to reach 160 km an hour (100 miles) and waves to rise as high as 18 metres (59 ft), which could cause flash flooding, mudslides and a storm surge. Hurricane force winds extend outward up to 25 miles (35 km) from the center and tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 150 miles. Because the air above the storm is as cold as -80 degrees, there is enough lift and energy available with this huge temperature contrast between the base and the top of the storm for hurricane strength winds to develop.
The storm should eventually turn north and pick up speed before going over the Azores on Friday morning, according to the National Hurricane Center. Alex appeared to have originally formed off the United States’ southeast coast around January 7, passing near Bermuda on its way to Europe, Newsmax reported.
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After that, it’s expected to head toward Greenland.
