Hurricane Alex Weakens To Tropical Storm

The National Hurricane Center is reporting that Hurricane Alex has weakened to a tropical storm Friday as it moved away from the Azores.

Officials say Alex made landfall on the island of Terceira around 9:15 a.m. Friday as a tropical storm with an intensity of 70 mph.

As of 11 a.m. local time the storm's center was located about 35 miles north of Terceira in the Azores, with Alex moving north near.

Alex's Maximum sustained winds are near 70 mph with higher gusts and little change in strength is expected during the next 48 hours and the storm is expected to lose tropical characteristics later in the day Friday.

Although the Azores Meteorological Service has discontinued the hurricane and tropical storm tropical-storm-force wind gusts are still possible over portions of the Azores for the next few hours.

Rainfall from the storm is expected to diminish across the Azores this afternoon, and the storm surge and waves should gradually diminish across the Azores as well.