update on Alex and TD#2, definitely quite active.

[WXBUFFJIM]

After battering the Outer Banks of North Carolina, Hurricane Alex is moving away from the coast. The hardest hit area was close to Cape Hatteras where a 5 minute sustained wind was 75 mph with wind gusts up to 102 mph. There was an unconfirmed report of a 120 mph wind gust with this thing. There was a 5 foot soundside storm surge with many homes flooded south of Cape Hatteras on the Pamilco Sound side of the barrier island. Highway 12 was also under water during the peak of this storm. Luckily Hurricane Alex only affected the Outer Banks on a severe level and no other coastal zone was severely impacted.

At 5 PM EDT, all warnings have been dropped south of Cape Lookout. A hurricane warning remains in effect from Oregon Inlet to Cape Lookout. A tropical storm warning is up from Oregon Inlet to the NC/VA border. All warnings will likely be dropped later tonight as Alex moves further offshore.

At 5 PM EDT, Hurricane Alex was centered near latitude 35.8 north, longitude 74.6 west or about 65 miles northeast of Cape Hatteras, NC. Movement is towards the northeast at 17 mph and this motion is expected to continue for the next day or so. Maximum sustained winds are near 100 mph with higher gusts. Little change in strength is expected over the next day or so. Hurricane force winds extend outward up to 35 miles from the center and tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 105 miles. Minimum central pressure is 972 mb or 28.70 inches. Storm surge, wave action, and heavy rains will all subside as we head on through this evening. By tomorrow, the entire Carolina coastal zone will see less wave action, sunshine, and typical summer weather. There is still some possibility for some rip currents over the next few days as Alex moves away, but the threat will subside with time along the coast of the Mid Atlantic.

Elsewhere in the tropics, we had a tropical depression develop east of the Windward Islands this morning at 11 AM. This system remains a depression at 5 PM. The big change is we have watches and warnings now in effect for the Windward Islands and the Virgin Islands as well. A tropical storm warning is in effect for St. Lucia. A tropical storm watch is in effect for Guadelope, Martinique, Dominica, St. Maarten, Saba, and St. Eustatius. A tropical storm watch is also in effect for the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

Tropical Depression #2 is located near latitude 13.6 north, longitude 56.6 west or about 300 miles east of the Windward Islands. Movement is towards the west at near 23 mph. Maximum sustained winds 30 mph with higher gusts. Estimated minimum central pressure is 1009 mb 29.80 inches.

A hurricane hunter plane is scheduled to investigate TD#2 early Wednesday morning. More updates will be issued on this system and Alex throughout the night and beyond.

Jim