North Atlantic spawns Subtropical Storm Rebekah

In a pattern setup similar to what gave birth to Pablo last week, a spinning area of disturbed weather west of the Azores developed into Subtropical Storm Rebekah in the otherwise quiet Atlantic basin.

The swirl initially developed in a pool of cool air located over the North Atlantic, several hundred miles west of the Azores. However, water temperatures were warm enough to modify the air just above the ocean and allow the feature to gain some tropical characteristics.

A subtropical storm means that Rebekah exhibits both tropical and non-tropical features.

Rebekah became the 17th named storm of the Atlantic season on Wednesday afternoon.

The system is not likely to become a hurricane, given the predicted short life span. However, it could transition from a subtropical storm to a tropical storm. It may be fully tropical in nature for only a couple of days.

"The overall environment is likely to become more hostile, including colder waters, for a tropical system from Thursday to Friday," Dan Kottlowski, AccuWeather's top hurricane expert, said.

"Regardless of the classification, the system will generate gale-force winds, rough surf and downpours as it drifts close to the Azores during Thursday night and Friday," Kottlowski added.

A large, non-tropical storm is forecast to shred Rebekah apart before reaching the United Kingdom this weekend. However, the U.K. and a portion of western Europe can expect strong winds.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Atlantic Ocean is expected to remain free of organized tropical features with unremarkable disturbances emerging from the west coast of Africa to the Caribbean Sea.

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