Hurricane Alex (2016)

Hurricane Alex (2016)

Hurricane Alex was the first Atlantic hurricane to occur in January since Hurricane Alice of 1954-1955. Alex originated as a non-tropical low near the Bahamas on January 7, 2016. The cyclone peaked in strength as a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson scale with maximum sustained winds of 85 mph. Alex weakened to a high-end tropical storm before making landfall on Terceira Island on January 15.

About Hurricane Alex (2016) in brief

Summary Hurricane Alex (2016)Hurricane Alex was the first Atlantic hurricane to occur in January since Hurricane Alice of 1954-1955. Alex originated as a non-tropical low near the Bahamas on January 7, 2016. Initially traveling northeast, the system passed by Bermuda on January 8 before turning southeast and deepening. Alex continued to develop tropical features while turning north-northeast, and transitioned into a fully tropical cyclone on January 14. The cyclone peaked in strength as a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson scale with maximum sustained winds of 85 mph and a central pressure of 981 mbar. Alex weakened to a high-end tropical storm before making landfall on Terceira Island on January 15. It was the only recorded hurricane to track within 230 mi of the Azores outside the usual activity period between August and September. Alex ultimately merged with another cyclone over the Labrador Sea on January 17. The precursor cyclone to Hurricane Alex brought stormy conditions to Bermuda from January 7 to 9. Unrelated to Alex, the formation of Hurricane Pali over the Central Pacific in early January coincided with Alex’s development over the Atlantic.

This marked the first occurrence of simultaneous January tropical cyclones between these two basins. Alex is only the second hurricane after the unnamed storm of 1938 to originate within January. Only five systems other than Alex were recorded since 1851: an unnamed hurricane in 1938, an unnamed tropical storm in 1951, Hurricane Alice in 1954–55, an unidentified subtropical storm in 1978, and Tropical Storm Zeta in 2005-2006. Alex became only thesecond hurricane on record to form north of 30°N and east of 30 °W. It is also the first hurricane to impact theAzores since Hurricane Gordon in 2012, and the only one to do so outside of the usual August-September activity period. Alex brought gusty winds and heavy rain to the archipelago, though structural damage was generally minor. The system featured a large field of gale-force winds, with maximum sustain winds of 60–65 mph.