Hurricane Alex

[TWCToday]

NHC finally confirmed that Alex is indeed a hurricane just now.

I beat you

Anyways....

...ALEX BECOMES THE FIRST HURRICANE OF THE 2010 SEASON AND THE FIRST JUNE ATLANTIC HURRICANE SINCE 1995...

[WeatherWitness]

So Alex is now a hurricane...and first June Atlantic hurricane since 1995. Wow, and June is almost over too. I guess it formed at the right time.

[Rod]

NHC finally confirmed that Alex is indeed a hurricane just now.

I beat you

Anyways....

...ALEX BECOMES THE FIRST HURRICANE OF THE 2010 SEASON AND THE FIRST JUNE ATLANTIC HURRICANE SINCE 1995...

Actually technically I beat you! I told you an hour ago!

[phw115wvwx]

Alex's forecast track has been shifted southward by NHC at the 11 PM EDT advisory.  Now, it looks like it won't make landfall directly over southern TX.  There will still be impacts felt in TX due to the size of this hurricane, but the worst of it is going to be over eastern Mexico when it makes landfall Wednesday evening.

2 AM EDT update:  Winds are up to 80 mph, and the pressure is down to 972 mb.

[TWCToday]

ALEX HAS BECOME MUCH BETTER ORGANIZED THIS MORNING BASED ON
WELL-DEFINED BANDING FEATURES WRAPPING INTO THE CENTER AND THE
APPEARANCE OF A SMALL EYE IN INFRARED IMAGERY. AN AIR FORCE RESERVE
UNIT RECONNAISSANCE AIRCRAFT AT 0842Z MEASURED A CENTRAL PRESSURE
961 MB AND 850 MB FLIGHT-LEVEL WINDS OF 82 KT IN THE NORTHEAST
QUADRANT. THE SFMR ABOARD THE PLANE MEASURED A RELIABLE SURFACE
WIND OF 62 KT AND A RAIN-CONTAMINATED PEAK WIND OF 71 KT. THE
DVORAK INTENSITY ESTIMATE FROM BOTH TAFB AND SAB WAS T4.5/77 KT.
THEREFORE...THE INITIAL INTENSITY IS CONSERVATIVELY INCREASED TO 70
KT FOR THIS ADVISORY.

ALEX HAS WOBBLED WEST-NORTHWESTWARD OVER THE PAST 6 HOURS...AND EVEN
BRIEFLY STALLED. HOWEVER...TRENDING THROUGH THE SATELLITE AND RECON
FIXES YIELDS AN AVERAGE MOTION OF 290/06. UPPER-AIR OBSERVATIONS AT
00Z INDICATED MODEST 10-30 METER HEIGHT RISES FROM 700-400 MB
ACROSS THE GULF COAST FROM LOUISIANA TO FLORIDA...BUT ALSO TO THE
NORTHWEST AND WEST OF ALEX ACROSS TEXAS MEXICO TO THE WEST. THIS
MEANS ALEX IS EMBEDDED BETWEEN TO RIDGES AND IN A WEAKER STEERING
FLOW REGIME THAT NONE OF THE MODELS PICKED UP ON IN THE SHORT TERM.
HOWEVER...ALL OF THE GLOBAL AND REGIONAL MODELS ARE CONSISTENT ON
BRINGING A MID-LEVEL RIDGE FROM WESTERN NEBRASKA SOUTHEASTWARD TO
THE TENNESSEE VALLEY DURING THE NEXT 48 HOURS...WHICH SHOULD ACT TO
STEER ALEX ON WEST-NORTHWESTWARD TRACK FOR THE NEXT 24 HOURS AND
THEN WESTWARD ACROSS NORTHERN MEXICO AFTER THAT. THERE HAS BEEN AN
INTERESTING CHANGE IN THE 00Z AND 06 MODEL GUIDANCE WITH THE ECMWF
SHIFTING FARTHER NORTHWARD...WHICH MEANS THIS MDOEL HAS GONE FROM
BEING THE PERSISTENT LEFT-MOST OF THE MODELS TO THE RIGHT SIDE OF
THE MODEL SUITE...AND IT NOW HAS A TRACK SIMILAR TO HWRF. THE
OFFICIAL FORECAST TRACK HAS BEEN SHIFTED SLIGHTLY TO THE RIGHT OF
THE PREVIOUS TRACK BASED ON THE MORE NORTHWARD INITIAL POSITION...
AND REMAINS NEAR THE EXTREME RIGHT SIDE OF THE GUIDANCE ENVELOPE
AND NORTH OF THE MODEL CONSENSUS.

VERTICAL SHEAR IS FORECAST TO REMAIN LIGHT UP UNTIL LANDFALL OCCURS
IN ABOUT 24 HOURS. GIVEN THAT ALEX IS ALSO MOVING SLOWLY OVER SOME
OF THE WARMEST UPPER-OCEAN HEAT CONTENT IN THAT REGION OF THE GULF
OF MEXICO...STEADY STRENGTHENING RIGHT UP UNTIL LANDFALL SEEMS
REASONABLE. HOWEVER...GIVEN THE RELATIVELY LOW CENTRAL PRESSURE
RECENTLY MEASURED BY THE RECON AIRCRAFT...RAPID INTENSIFICATION OF
AT LEAST 30 KT IN 24 HOURS IS A DISTINCT POSSIBILITY. THE OFFICIAL
INTENSITY FORECAST IS A BLEND OF THE LGEM AND SHIPS MODELS

[gt1racerlHDl]

Updated Imagery: http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/goes/flt/t1/flash-rb.html

[lionwxgirl10]

Alex certainly wasted no time intensifying!! It isn't even making a direct hit in Louisiana, but we're still getting some pretty good effects from it, more wind than rain though. Anybody on here that's in the effected areas be safe and take care!

[phw115wvwx]

Hurricane Alex is strengthening and picking up forward speed as shown in the 2 PM EDT advisory:

SUMMARY OF 100 PM CDT...1800 UTC...INFORMATION
----------------------------------------------
LOCATION...24.4N 96.2W
ABOUT 110 MI...175 KM ENE OF LA PESCA MEXICO
ABOUT 130 MI...210 KM SSE OF BROWNSVILLE TEXAS
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...85 MPH...135 KM/HR
PRESENT MOVEMENT...NW OR 320 DEGREES AT 12 MPH...18 KM/HR
MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...962 MB...28.41 INCHES

[wxmediafan]

It's amazing how something so devistating can be so beautiful at the same time.   I love seeing views of hurricanes from satellites.

[phw115wvwx]

Hurricane Alex is only a few hours away from making landfall over eastern Mexico, and the winds are up to 90 mph at the 5 PM EDT advisory.  I hope everyone in Mexico and southern TX stays safe.

[WeatherWitness]

Could Alex become a Cat. 2 before it makes landfall? I know there is little time left, but my FOX4 weatherman was saying that such strengthening could happen.

[gt1racerlHDl]

Could Alex become a Cat. 2 before it makes landfall? I know there is little time left, but my FOX4 weatherman was saying that such strengthening could happen.

Your theory is Correct Andy, Alex now Cat 2 @ 100mph with 950mb pressure

Welcome back Hurricane Dolly from 2008

[phw115wvwx]

Hurricane Alex has made landfall near Soto La Marina, Mexico around 10 PM EDT.  This town is about 110 miles south of Brownsville, TX.  The winds have peaked at 105 mph, and the pressure is 947 mb.  That pressure reading is really low for a Category 2 hurricane.  It could have been a scary situation if Alex had more time over water as it was really picking up intensity the last few hours.

[WeatherWitness]

Hurricane Alex has made landfall near Soto La Marina, Mexico around 10 PM EDT.  This town is about 110 miles south of Brownsville, TX.  The winds have peaked at 105 mph, and the pressure is 947 mb.  That pressure reading is really low for a Category 2 hurricane.  It could have been a scary situation if Alex had more time over water as it was really picking up intensity the last few hours.

Wow!!! You're right, Patrick. I didn't think Alex was going to be anywhere near a Cat. 2 after yesterday's information, but it indeed was. Good thing it didn't have more time to intensify, or it could have become a major hurricane.

We're feeling the very outer rain bands here in Dallas...we got a soaker about a few hours ago, and we'll be staying wet for the next several days.

[wxmediafan]

Hurricane Alex has made landfall near Soto La Marina, Mexico around 10 PM EDT.  This town is about 110 miles south of Brownsville, TX.  The winds have peaked at 105 mph, and the pressure is 947 mb.  That pressure reading is really low for a Category 2 hurricane.  It could have been a scary situation if Alex had more time over water as it was really picking up intensity the last few hours.

A couple of the local meteorologists here were really surprised how low that pressure was.  They were saying that the pressure was more like a Category 4 hurricane!  Crazy.

As mentioned earlier, beautiful storm on the satellite.