first major hurricane in the Atlantic on record to form as low as 10°N latitude. A wave, possibly the largest ever recorded, was attributed to Ivan; this wave may have been as high as . Additionally, hurricanes Charley and Ivan ranked as the third and second costliest hurricanes in the United States at the time, respectively, behind only Hurricane Andrew. With $60.9 billion in damage, this was the costliest season at the time, until the following year. Systems Hurricane Alex The interaction between a trough and tropical wave resulted in the development of a tropical depression on July 31, while centered about east of Jacksonville, Florida. After initially being poorly organized, the depression strengthened into Tropical Storm Alex late on August 1. The storm tracked northeastward and became a hurricane on August 3. As Alex moved out to sea, it intensified into a Category 3 hurricane and peaked with winds of . Alex reached major hurricane status second farthest north in the Atlantic, after Hurricane Ellen in 1973. Eventually, Alex weakened due to cooler sea surface temperatures. The hurricane fell to tropical storm intensity around 12:00 UTC on August 6. Six hours later, it became extratropical while located about east of Cape Race, Newfoundland, and was soon absorbed by a large extratropical cyclone. Rough seas and a storm surge up to on the Outer Banks of North Carolina caused minor beach erosion and washed out portions of a highway in Cape Fear. A man drowned near Nags Head due to these conditions. Strong winds also pelted the area, with sustained winds reaching and gusts up to in Hatteras. As a result, 10,000 buildings and houses were left without electricity. The combination of strong winds and the storm surge damaged more than 100 buildings and houses. At Ocracoke, coastal flooding was considered the worst since Hurricane Gloria in 1985. Additionally, rainfall up to on the Outer Banks flooded nearly 500 cars. Damage in North Carolina reached about $7.5 million. In Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, three people were injured by rip currents, while five others were hospitalized in New Jersey. Tropical Storm Bonnie A tropical wave developed into Tropical Depression Two on August 3, while located about east of Barbados. The depression crossed the Lesser Antilles on August 4, before degenerating back into a tropical wave. The remnants traversed the Caribbean Sea, and re-developed into Tropical Depression Two on August 8. The depression