Miami, FL – The first named Atlantic storm of 2016 arrives nearly 6 months before the hurricane season is supposed to begin.
The National Hurricane Center in Miami says Subtropical Storm Alex formed Wednesday afternoon around 785 miles south-southwest of the Azores.
The storm – which packs sustained winds of 50 miles per hour – is moving northeast at 14 miles an hour as of the NHC’s 4 PM advisory.
Forecasters expect the storm to curve north towards the mid-Atlantic and stay well away from any large body of land before it breaks up, including Florida.
NHC does expect the storm to go over the Azores sometime late Thursday or early Friday, leaving behind a projected rainfall of around 3 to 5 inches and possibly up to 7 in some areas.
“These rains may produce life-threatening flash floods and mudslides,” stated the advisory.
The Atlantic hurricane season normally starts June 1st and ends on November 30th of every year.
Forecasters were not expecting any post-seasonal hurricane activity, especially with one of the strongest El Nino effects on record this winter causing wind shear in the Caribbean that’s traditionally a killer to any hurricane formation.
2015 came to an end with 11 named storms, including a tropical depression. Of those storms, 4 became hurricanes and 2 were major hurricanes. That was pretty much on target with initial projections from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
It’s been 10 consecutive years since the State of Florida’s been hit directly by a hurricane. That’s the longest such streak on record.
The Volusia/Flagler area hasn’t had a direct hurricane or tropical storm strike since 2004.
Graphic below courtesy of NHC. Click the graphic for a larger view.
Copyright 2016 Southern Stone Communications.