 On January 1 , there was already a tropical cyclone located in the central Atlantic Ocean , having developed on December 30 of the previous year . Operationally it was first observed as a hurricane on January 1 , which resulted in it being named Alice . The hurricane passed through the Leeward Islands on January 2 . Alice reached peak winds of 80 mph ( 130 km / h ) before encountering cold air and turning to the southeast . It dissipated on January 6 over the southeastern Caribbean Sea . Alice produced heavy rainfall and moderately strong winds across several islands along its path . <unk> and Anguilla were affected the most , with total damage amounting to $ 623 @,@ 500 . Operationally , lack of definitive data prevented the U.S. Weather Bureau from declaring the system a hurricane until January 2 . It received the name Alice in early 1955 , though re @-@ analysis of the data supported extending its track to the previous year , resulting in two tropical cyclones of the same name in one season . It was one of only two storms to span two calendar years , along with Tropical Storm <unk> in 2005 and 2006 . 
