Hurricane Alex

For the eponymous mission, see Hurricane.

"Bitch of a storm out there. Look at those CBs."

― José Gutierrez

Hurricane Alex was an out-of-season hurricane that formed in the eastern Atlantic Ocean in January 2016. Hurricane Alex's existence was concurrent with the New Russian Federation uprising, including the NRF's attack on the United States of America.

Etymology

In real life, the United States National Hurricane Center names tropical and subtropical storms once they meet certain criteria. The World Meteorological Organization's RA IV Hurricane Committee maintains six alphabetical lists of names that are rotated each calendar year. The first named storm in a calendar year takes the A name, the second named storm takes the B name, and so on. These lists are public knowledge; at the time of Ace Combat: Assault Horizon's release in 2011, it was known that the 2016 Atlantic hurricane season's list of names would begin with "Alex".

History

A bird's-eye view of a tornado produced by Alex

"I can't keep my aircraft stable. Shit, stay in one piece, baby ... I can't lock, radar won't lock."

― Warwolf 3

Hurricane Alex formed in the Atlantic Ocean in January 2016. It approached Central America but turned north before it made landfall on any countries. By this point, it had become a Category 4 hurricane, its winds topping at 120 knots (220 km/h; 140 mph). Two aircraft carriers from the United States Navy were sweeping a search area in the Caribbean for the NRF, Andrei Markov, and the final Trinity missile, but the hurricane's presence hampered the search effort.

By January 18, Hurricane Alex's eye had reached Florida but did not make landfall; Alex remained on the coast but traveled further north, allowing the United States Air Force to sortie and patrol Florida, though the hurricane's clouds remained easily visible by the USAF pilots. NRF fighter aircraft entered Florida airspace mid-morning on the 18th; in the ensuing battle, Markov shot down José Gutierrez, while William Bishop damaged Markov's plane and the Trinity missile on its wing. Markov fled north directly into the hurricane itself.

Hurricane Alex strengthened into a Category 5 hurricane by the time Warwolf Squadron caught up with Markov inside the storm. During this time, Alex produced a large tornado off the coast of Georgia. Sergei Illich, attempting to distract Warwolf from Markov, led Warwolf into a dogfight inside the tornado. Illich's PAK-FA retained its stealth inside the tornado and was seemingly unharmed by it, while Warwolf Squadron (particularly Warwolf 3) suffered a loss in visibility and reduced flight control due to the wind shear. Bishop eventually shot down Illich and the squadron flew north to continue chasing Markov.

The battle over Washington, D.C. was not affected by Hurricane Alex.

Trivia

Destroying a Tornado with Trinity

• Players can "destroy" the tornado in Hurricane Alex by firing an Experimental Weapon 1 missile (the special weapon variant of Trinity) into the water under the tornado. This removes the tornado's wind effects, making the dogfight against Illich easier, but this cannot be performed in a campaign run since access to Experimental Weapon 1 is restricted to Free Mission.
• Low water temperatures cannot sustain tropical storms, so hurricanes rarely form during the month of January. Prior to the release of Assault Horizon in 2011, only one hurricane was recorded to have formed in January: "Hurricane One" in 1938, which reached a peak strength of Category 1. Thus, a Category 5 hurricane forming in January would be nearly impossible.
  • In real life, 2016's Hurricane Alex did form in January, becoming only the second hurricane to do so in recorded history. Like "Hurricane One", it only reached a peak strength of Category 1 and caused minimal damage.

In aviation vernacular and weather reports, "CB" stands for "cumulonimbus", a type of cloud known to carry heavy storms.