BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – A little less than six months before the 2016 Atlantic Hurricane Season is scheduled to begin, the first named storm for that season, Hurricane Alex, has developed and while is poses no threat whatsoever to the Caribbean, the historic event is worth mentioning.
The system was a sub-tropical storm yesterday and has since developed into a hurricane. As indicated by the National Hurricane Center (NHC), as at 11:00 a.m. today (Jan. 14) it was located 31.5N, 28.4W or approximately 490 miles from Faial Island in the Central Azores.
It is a Category One hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 85 miles per hour and is travelling in a north-northeasterly direction at about 20 miles per hour.
The storm has surprised many because the Atlantic Hurricane Season runs from June 1 to November 30 and it is during that period of time that most of the activity takes place.
While Alex’s formation constitutes a rarity, such activity has taken place in the past. The National Hurricane Centre informed that the last time a named storm formed in January was in 1978.
SKNVibes understands Hurricane Alex is also the first hurricane to develop in January in decades.
According to forecasters, Alex’s activity would be restricted to the eastern Atlantic and is expected to downgrade to a non-tropical low-pressure system over the next couple of days.
However, warnings and watches have been implemented for the Azores and it is suggested that with the amount of rainfall expected, “life-threatening” flash flooding could result.
