Tropical Storm Alex and the potential for midget tropical cyclones to go undetected

Tropical Storm Alex occurred near Guam and was one of the smallest tropical cyclones ever observed. Despite its small size, it had a well developed eye feature clearly evident on radar. The structure of this unusual tropical cyclone will be presented, along with some of the reasons why no warnings were issued for this this intense midget until after passing directly over Rota in October 1998. A brief discussion of the potential for similar midget tropical cyclones to go undetected near islands and coastlines will follow.