The unseasonable wintertime hurricane that developed over the Northeast Atlantic on Thursday has been downgraded to Post-Tropical Cyclone Alex, but its place in the annals of hurricane history is secure. Alex became a hurricane at 15Z (10 am EST) Thursday and maintained Category 1 strength for almost 24 hours. Alex’s western eyewall made landfall on the island of Terceira in the central Azores, roughly 1000 miles west of Portugal, at around 8:15 am EST with tropical-storm force winds of 60 knots (70 mph). No major damage was reported. While approaching Terceira at 7 am EST, Alex was still classified as a minimal hurricane (75 mph winds). Most of Terceira was on the west (weaker) side of Alex, so hurricane-force winds might have been observed if Alex had tracked just a bit further west. The eyewall passed over Lajes Air Force Base, producing a minimum pressure of at least 29.18” (988 mb) (no wind observations from within an hour of landfall were available). Wind gusts to 58 mph were observed at Ponta Delgada, more than 100 miles southeast of Terceira, and gusts to 55 mph were reported at Santa Maria, roughly 200 miles southeast of Terceira. At 4 pm EST Friday, Alex was located about 300 miles north of Terceira, racing northward at 40 mph with sustained winds of 60 knots (70 mph).


http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/astounding-alex-hits-the-azores-januarys-first-atlantic-landfall-i