Updated Tuesday, 12:30 p.m.: Less than 24 hours after becoming the first named storm of 2019, Andrea was downgraded by the National Hurricane Center to a Subtropical Depression and was expected to dissipate soon.
#Andrea was a subtropical storm for 0.75 days – the shortest-lived "A" tropical cyclone in the Atlantic since Tropical Storm Amelia in 1978. pic.twitter.com/rFR2DUGVDp
— Philip Klotzbach (@philklotzbach) May 21, 2019
Earlier story: Subtropical Storm Andrea formed Monday about 335 miles southwest of Bermuda, and was not expected to hang around very long but could bring us an enhanced threat of rip currents by midweek.
This is the fifth straight year a named tropical cyclone has formed in the Atlantic basin prior to the official start of hurricane season on June 1.
“The cyclone is considered subtropical at this time because it is interacting with an upper-level low pressure system to its west, has a relatively large radius of maximum wind and its overall appearance in satellite images,” said John Cangialosi, a specialist at the National Hurricane Center.
The first advisory issued Monday at 7 p.m. had Andrea with maximum sustained winds of 40 mph, and the center was moving north at 14 mph.
Andrea is expected to slow down its forward speed and turn to the northeast and then east through Tuesday and Tuesday night, remaining southwest or south of Bermuda.
Slight strengthening is possible overnight, followed by weakening by late Tuesday and into Wednesday.
No direct impacts are expected for coastal North Carolina, other than an increase in swells and rip currents starting Wednesday.
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