High winds and heavy seas hit the North Carolina shore early August 3, 2004 as Hurricane Alex, which strengthened from a tropical storm overnight, churned through the Atlantic. Alex, the first named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, was packing winds of up to 80 mph and was expected to brush past the Outer Banks islands that jut out into the ocean from North Carolina, said the National Hurricane Center in Miami. This Reuters animated graphic shows satellite photography of Hurricane Alex (as of approximately 10:30 AM EDT) on August 3, 2004. Photo by Reuters Graphic.