The first subtropical storm of the year has strengthened into a hurricane. The storm was expected to lose tropical characteristics later in the day, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center.
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As of 10 PM on Thursday, authorities have warned residents in the islands of Pico, Faial, Graciosa, Sao Jorge, and Terceira to take precautionary measures as Hurricane Alex approaches.
Overnight, a freak January subtropical storm became the strongest Atlantic hurricane on record for January – out of only three.
By 10am EST on Thursday, Alex had hurricane-force winds reaching 25 miles (40 km) out from its centre, with tropical storm-force winds reaching up to 150 miles (241 km) out. Hurricane Alex has formed in the Atlantic, which is very rare in January. He also says two other systems developed in December and survived into January: Alice in 1954-1955 and Zeta in 2005-2006.
Storm Alex is moving north-east and is expected to hit the Azores on Friday, prompting a hurricane warning.
Is Alex a 2015 or 2016 hurricane name?
Alex was rated a “Category 1” hurricane, which is the lowest rating on the five-tier Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale.
Yes. Alex is the first Atlantic hurricane to form in January since 1938. According to the Weather Channel, hurricane season spans June through the end of the November and tropical storms outside that range happen roughly only every decade.
The storm’s strongest recorded wind gusts of 100 miles per hour aren’t enough to bump its categorization up to major hurricane status, but the likelihood of damage and possible loss of life is high enough to justify concern.
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).
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Hurricane conditions were expected in the Azores on Friday morning as Hurricane Alex neared the islands in the eastern Atlantic.
