Hurricane Alex is the first Atlantic hurricane to form in the month of January since 1938, and the first one to exist during January since hurricane Alice in 1955. Alex formed in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean on Wednesday, making it one of the earliest tropical storms to form in the Atlantic since records began. Accuweather.com reports: “A subtropical storm has both tropical and non-tropical characteristics and has a large wind field,” said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dan Kottlowski. A small eye formed in the system during early Thursday, local time. Alex has made the transition from a part tropical and non-tropical system to a full-featured tropical system. Alex is located well in the eastern Atlantic Ocean and doesn’t pose a threat to the United States; however, it will affect the Azores. According to Kottlowski, Alex will bring damaging winds and the risk of flooding to the Azores with the worst conditions late Thursday night through Friday morning, local time.