Hurricane Alex (2010)

Hurricane Alex

Alex making landfall in Mexico at peak intensity on July 1
Meteorological history
Formed	June 25, 2010
Post-tropical	July 2, 2010
Dissipated	July 6, 2010
Category 2 hurricane
1-minute sustained (SSHWS/NWS)
Highest winds	110 mph (175 km/h)
Lowest pressure	946 mbar (hPa); 27.94 inHg
Overall effects
Fatalities	51
Missing	22
Damage	$1.52 billion (2010 USD)
Areas affected	Greater Antilles, Central America, Yucatán Peninsula, Northern Mexico, Texas
IBTrACS / [1]
Part of the 2010 Atlantic hurricane season

Hurricane Alex was the first tropical cyclone of the 2010 Atlantic hurricane season, and a rare June Atlantic hurricane. Originating from an area of disturbed weather on June 25, 2010, it slowly developed in the western Caribbean Sea and struck Belize as a strong tropical storm. After entering the Gulf of Mexico, Alex became very large and encountered conditions favorable for gradual development. Early on June 30, the cyclone attained hurricane status as it approached northeastern Mexico, the first June hurricane in the Atlantic basin since Hurricane Allison in 1995, and the storm rapidly intensified just off the coast of Tamaulipas. Alex made landfall near Soto la Marina as a Category 2 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Alex rapidly weakened after landfall, with the storm losing its tropical status on July 2, before fully dissipating on July 6.^[1]

Alex caused the deaths of at least 51 people along its path, and produced over $1.5 billion (2010 USD) in damage. The precursor of the hurricane produced substantial rainfall across the Greater Antilles, causing one death in the Dominican Republic. Fourteen people were killed in Central America as a result of flooding during the first landfall of Alex. In Mexico, the storm's outer rainbands killed three people in Acapulco, one person in Oaxaca, and another in Chiapas. At its final landfall, Alex caused at least fifteen deaths in Nuevo León, eight in Coahuila, six in Guanajuato, and one in both Tamaulipas and San Luis Potosí; an additional twenty persons were reported missing.

Alex triggered widespread power outages throughout northeastern Mexico and southern Texas. Damage was most evident in the Monterrey metropolitan area, which faced what Nuevo León governor Rodrigo Medina de la Cruz described as, "the worst weather phenomenon in its history."^[2] Following Alex's final landfall, a state of emergency was declared for most of Nuevo León, portions of Tamaulipas, and Texas. Widespread flooding from the storm affected 500,000 people throughout northeast Mexico, and ruined over 200,000 hectares (500,000 acres) of crops in the region, equivalent to 11% of the region's total farmland. Despite the significant damage and death toll, the name Alex was not retired following the season.