A January Atlantic hurricane? It happened, 10 years ago
An Atlantic hurricane forming in January is unusual, but Alex did it 10 years ago this week, and it later made landfall.
In the middle of the Atlantic Ocean on Jan. 14, 2016, something unusual happened. A hurricane was named.
Hurricane Alex was the first Atlantic hurricane to form in January since 1938 and the first Atlantic hurricane to occur in January since 1955, when Hurricane Alice continued into the new year on December's heels.
It's an unusual event. In addition to those hurricanes, only four tropical or subtropical storms have been named in the Atlantic during January since 1900.
Hurricane Alex at peak intensity, south of the Azores, on Jan. 14, 2016. (NOAA)
Before becoming a hurricane, Alex made the transition from a non-tropical storm to a subtropical storm to a fullly developed tropical storm during the early part of the week.
"A subtropical storm means that the storm has meteorological characteristics of both a tropical storm and a non-tropical storm," explained AccuWeather Meteorologist Brian Lada.
A hurricane warning was issued for some islands in the Azores, where Alex brought heavy rain and high winds, bringing down some trees and damaging roofs. Alex made landfall on the island of Terceira on Jan. 15, 2016, as a tropical storm, one of only four storms to hit the island in Atlantic storm history, which dates back to 1851.
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