On January 17, 2016 the first hurricane of the season dissipated over the Labrador Sea.

The big question is: Did you even know there was a Hurricane raging over the Atlantic?

On January 14, Hurricane Alex became the first hurricane to form during the month of January since 1938. It originated seven days earlier as an extratropical cyclone near the Bahamas and moved north. It peaked as a Category 1 on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale with winds of 85 mph. After weakening slightly, Alex made landfall on Terceira Island as a tropical storm a week later.

Luckily, this rare January hurricane did little damage.

But it does make you think about getting prepared, because you just never know when an emergency situation will creep up!

One really easy way to cover your bases when it comes to preparedness is to download the Red Cross Emergency App. Not only will the app alert you to any hurricanes in your area (based on your phone’s GPS coordinates), it can help you prepare for winter’s worst (which is definitely more pressing to northeast Ohio!)

Visit www.redcross.org/apps or search for RED CROSS in your device’s app store today.