A satellite image showing the current location of Subtropical Storm Andrea, the first named storm of the 2019 Atlantic Hurricane season, which doesn't officially begin until June 1. Photo: AccuWeather

Andrea has become the fifth tropical storm to form before the official start of hurricane season in the last five years in the Atlantic. Image: AccuWeather

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) announced Subtropical Storm Andrea formed as of Monday evening, May 20, 2019. Called a subtropical storm because it has a blend of both tropical and non-tropical characteristics, it is packing peak winds of 40 mph.

Storm could ‘dissipate’ in coming days-NHC

The storm could strengthen slightly through Tuesday before starting to weaken and ultimately dissipating later this week, the NHC said.

The Department of Disaster Management (DDM) also notified of the subtropical storm via its mobile alert app just after midnight.

Andrea becomes the fifth tropical storm to form before the official start of hurricane season in the last five years in the Atlantic. Hurricane season does not begin until June 1.

"Data from an Air Force Reserve reconnaissance aircraft indicate that the low pressure system located several hundred miles southwest of Bermuda has developed a well-defined center with maximum sustained winds of about 40 mph," the NHC said in an advisory.

‘Not an impressive weather system’

AccuWeather meteorologists have also been monitoring the low pressure system, which has largely existed as an area of showers and thunderstorms, since last week. On Monday May 20, 2019 it moved to the north of the Bahamas as it gathered strength, prompting the NHC to send the aircraft to examine the storm.

AccuWeather Hurricane Expert Dan Kottlowski emphasised that, while the storm is strong enough to be given a name, it is not an impressive weather system.

"This is going to be a very short-lived storm," Kottlowski said. "It probably will not survive past Tuesday night and will definitely be moving away from Bermuda by then." Kottlowski said cool water temperatures will be the storm's downfall. He said water temperatures in the Atlantic where Andrea is moving above are about 78 degrees Fahrenheit (26C). As the storm moves northwest, the water it encounters will only become cooler.

12-14 storms predicted for 2019 season

After an active Atlantic hurricane season in 2018, AccuWeather forecasters are predicting 2019 to result in a near- to slightly above-normal season with 12 to 14 storms.

Of those storms, five to seven are forecast to become hurricanes and two to four are forecast to become major hurricanes.

“This year, we think that there will be a few less tropical storms and lower numbers in hurricanes, but again, the old saying is ‘it only takes one’,” AccuWeather Atlantic Hurricane Expert Dan Kottlowski had said in April, 2019.

The predictions are similar to the predictions released by the hurricane research team at Colorado State University in early April. The Colorado State team had forecast a total of 13 named storms.

Despite early predictions, one of the biggest factors in how an Atlantic hurricane season unfolds is whether the global climate is under the influence of El Niño, La Niña or in a neutral phase.