Alex Hurricane

Southern–Eastern United States–North Atlantic Ocean, July 31–August 6, 2004 

The first tropical cyclone of the 2004 North Atlantic hurricane season, and one of only two known North Atlantic tropical cyclones to have reached major hurricane status (Category 3 on the Saffir-Simpson Scale and above) in the cool ocean waters north of 38 degrees, Alex was born off the North Carolina coast on July 31, 2004. Spawned by a weak tropical depression (TD 1) located some 175 miles (282 km) south-southeast of Charleston, South Carolina, Alex slowly drifted to the north-northeast before intensifying into a Category 2 hurricane (with sustained winds of 100 MPH [161 km/h]) on the afternoon of August 3. Passing very close to North Carolina’s picturesque but vulnerable Outer Banks, Alex delivered Category 1 winds and rains to the landmark lighthouse at Cape Hatteras, but remained an offshore system that caused no deaths or injuries in the Tarheel State. 

An extreme gust of 102 MPH (164 km/h) was observed on the Outer Banks on the afternoon of August 3. On August 4, 2004, while situated over the leading expanses of the Gulf Stream some 800 miles (1,285 km) southwest of Newfoundland, Canada, Alex became the most powerful tropical cyclone yet observed north of 38 degrees. Driven by an estimated central barometric pressure of 28.26 inches (957 mb), sustained winds of 120 MPH (195 km/h) lashed the sea surface, generating enormous waves and breaking Hurricane Ellen’s 1973 record of sustained 115-MPH (185-km/h) winds in roughly the same area. 

For four British rowers who had come within 300 miles (483 km) of breaking a 108-year old record for rowing across the Atlantic (55 days) from west to east, however, Alex’s record-setting passage proved a degree of competition they could have done without. A huge wave produced by the hurricane smashed their small, lightweight craft and cast them into the raging sea, where they remained for six terrifying hours before being rescued by a Danish cargo vessel. Alex remained at Category 3 intensity through August 5, before steadily weakening over the chill expanses of the western North Atlantic Ocean.

Between July 27 and August 3, 1998, an earlier Tropical Storm Alex—the first North Atlantic tropical cyclone to be dubbed Alex—produced a minimum pressure reading of 29.52 inches (1,000 mb) and sustained 52-MPH (84-km/h) winds, but remained to the east of the Leeward Islands, over the open Atlantic. The name Alex has been retained on the rotating list of North Atlantic tropical cyclone names and is scheduled to reappear in 2010.