Potential Rare January Hurricane System Moving Through Atlantic

The National Hurricane Center issued a rare winter tropical weather outlook on Monday (January 17), ABC News reports.

A system moving through the Atlantic Ocean was located about 300 miles north of Bermuda. The storm was, however, unable to transition to a subtropical or tropical cyclone as it continued to make its way north on Monday.

The system was responsible for a blast of snow that hit the New England region on Sunday (January 16) and Monday, which resulted in up to 4.5 inches of snow reported in parts of Massachusetts, as well as 3.5 inches in Boston after what has been a below-average snowfall for the area this winter.

"A non-tropical low pressure system centered over the northwestern Atlantic Ocean about 300 miles north of Bermuda is producing storm-force winds," the National Hurricane Center said in its update. "Although the cyclone is producing some thunderstorm activity near the center, it is embedded in a cold air mass with nearby frontal boundaries.

"The low is expected to move northeastward today and northward tonight, bringing the system over much colder waters and across Atlantic Canada by early Tuesday. Therefore, it is unlikely that the low will transition to a subtropical or tropical cyclone. Nevertheless, the system is expected to remain a strong non-tropical low during the next day or so, and additional information, including storm-force wind warnings, can be found in High Seas Forecasts issued by the National Weather Service."

Atlantic hurricane season typically takes place between June 1 to November 30, while the most recent January hurricane was Hurricane Alex, a category 1 that made landfall in Portugal as a tropical storm, in 2016. Hurricane Alice had previously developed in December 1953 and extended through early January 1954.

The first January hurricane on record, an unnamed storm, took place during the first six days of January 1938.