First Hurricane of the Year, Alex, Set to Hit the Azores

Hurricane Alex is set to hit the Azores, a group of Portuguese Islands in the Atlantic, late Thursday and into Friday, U.S. officials reported. The Azores is located about 800 to 900 miles west of mainland Portugal.

The forecast has Alex moving north and through the eastern Atlantic Ocean. By late Friday, the hurricane is expected to change back into a low-pressure system. Although Hurricane Alex is not expected to last very long, it will be bringing about seven inches of rain, causing flash flood warnings as well as potential land slides.

"The good news is this won't last very long," meteorologist Dennis Feltgen with the National Hurricane Center told NBC News. "The bad news is it is going straight through the Azores."

Hurricane warnings have been issued by the Azores Meteorological Service for Faial, Pico, Sao Jorge, Graciosa and Terceria, which are islands located in the center of the Azores. Tropical storm warnings have ben issued for Sao Miguel and Santa Maria, islands located in the eastern zone of the Azores.

Alex, a Category 1 hurricane, has a 15-mile long eye and has maximum sustained winds up to 85 miles-per-hour. It is the first hurricane in 78 years to take form in the Atlantic Ocean in the month of January, according to the NOAA's database, which tracks hurricanes. Alex will also be the strongest hurricane recorded for this month.

Other interesting facts about Hurricane Alex include:

-It is the first hurricane in the Atlantic in January since 1955. Hurricane Alice started in December 1954 and lasted into early January 1955.

-It is the fourth hurricane ever to be recorded in this month since the tracking system first started in 1851.

Feltgen also acknowledged how rare it is to have a hurricane this early on in the year. Hurricane season typically runs from the beginning of June through to the end of November. 97 percent of hurricanes throughout the year will take place during this time frame.

"It's very rare," Feltgen said. "With records going back to 1851, we only have one hurricane that formed in the Atlantic basin in January and that was in 1938."

Alex was most likely able to take form due to the warming water temperatures and other factors, Feltgen noted.

Alex formed as a subtropical storm on Wednesday.