Rebekah (2019)

A large extratropical low in the far North Atlantic produced a smaller inner circulation that became Subtropical Storm Rebekah on 30 October 2019 about 550 nautical miles west of Flores Island in the western Azores. Rebekah existed as a subtropical cyclone from 1200 UTC 30 October until it weakened and became extratropical again by 0600 UTC 1 November; the remnant low dissipated by 1800 UTC 1 November about 100 n mi north of the Azores. The storm moved generally east to east-northeast while embedded on the southern side of the broader parent low.

There were no U.S. or continental Europe landfalls. Rebekah passed just north of the Azores region as a weakening extratropical low; it did not make a direct landfall on any major island. No coastal tropical cyclone watches or warnings were issued.

Peak intensity was estimated at 45 kt (about 52 mph) with a minimum central pressure near 982 mb. That peak was reached from 1200 UTC 30 October through 0000 UTC 1 November. Because Rebekah remained partially connected to its parent upper-level low and did not develop a fully warm core, it was classified as a subtropical storm rather than a tropical storm.

There were no reports of storm surge or notable rainfall totals associated with Rebekah in the NHC report, and no coastal tide or rain measurements were cited for cities or counties. Ship reports during the earlier extratropical stage recorded gale- and hurricane-force winds several hundred miles from the Azores, but no coastal surge or large precipitation totals were documented in the report.

No damage or casualties were reported. The report notes that the system’s genesis was poorly forecast, which is common for transitions from extratropical to subtropical at high latitude; track forecast errors were larger than recent averages for the few forecasts that verified, while short-range intensity forecasts were unusually accurate.