Tropical Storm Alex 2010 Becomes Hurricane Alex?

Tropical Storm Alex is close to becoming Hurricane Alex. The first 2010 tropical storm and hurricane system is in the Gulf of Mexico, which is unfortunate considering that the Gulf Oil Spill is still not rectified. The storm system has delayed some containment efforts, but it isn't as bad as it could be given that the path isn't going directly over the affected area.

Instead, the storm could hit the southern coast of Texas and parts of Mexico. It's expected to make landfall at the Texas/Mexico border sometime later on today.

As the system moves over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, it will gain strength. It's currently forecasted as a Category 3 hurricane, hardly a super hurricane such as Katrina.

Storm conditions could help the oil in the Gulf of Mexico separate and evaporate. However, it's a double edged sword as the storm system could also push the oil ashore.

Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, and Florida all have experienced oil washing ashore. Hurricane season will bring more woes to these states which have beaches on the Gulf of Mexico.

This is only the first of what could be many hurricanes this season. Although a bullet has been dodged this time, a hurricane could still rip through the area where crews are working to clean up the oil spill.

The trajectory of the storm can be seen in the graphic above. Hopefully the damage from the storm won't be widespread. The way it looks, Mexico will receive the majority of the force from the hurricane.