Tropical Storm Melissa was a

nor'easter A nor'easter (also northeaster; see below) is a large-scale extratropical cyclone in the western North Atlantic Ocean. The name derives from the direction of the winds that blow from the northeast. Typically, such storms originate as a low ...

and a short-lived

tropical cyclone A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its locat ...

that affected portions of the

East Coast of the United States The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, the Atlantic Coast, and the Atlantic Seaboard, is the region encompassing the coast, coastline where the Eastern United States meets the Atlantic Ocean; it has always pla ...

and

Atlantic Canada Atlantic Canada, also called the Atlantic provinces (), is the list of regions of Canada, region of Eastern Canada comprising four provinces: New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. As of 2021, the landma ...

in October 2019. The fourteenth depression and thirteenth named storm of the

2019 Atlantic hurricane season The 2019 Atlantic hurricane season was the fourth consecutive above-average and damaging season dating back to 2016. The season featured eighteen named storms, however, many storms were weak and short-lived, especially towards the end of the ...

, Melissa originated from a

cold front A cold front is the leading edge of a cooler mass of air at ground level that replaces a warmer mass of air and lies within a pronounced surface Trough (meteorology), trough of Low-pressure area, low pressure. It often forms behind an extratropica ...

that developed over the southwestern

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

on October 6. The system developed tropical storm-force winds on October 8, before becoming a nor'easter on the next day. The system then began to organize, and was designated as ''Subtropical Storm Melissa'' on October 11. Melissa was then upgraded into a tropical storm, the following day. However, the storm soon began to disorganize and transition into an extratropical low by October 14, before dissipating later that same day. The storm and its precursor brought strong winds, heavy rainfall, rough surf, and

coastal flooding Coastal flooding occurs when dry and low-lying land is submerged (flooded) by seawater. The range of a coastal Flood, flooding is a result of the elevation of floodwater that penetrates the inland which is controlled by the topography of the coas ...

to the

Mid-Atlantic States The Mid-Atlantic is a region of the United States located in the overlap between the nation's Northeastern and Southeastern states. Traditional definitions include seven U.S. states: New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virg ...

and

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

. Numerous trees and power lines were downed in

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

and

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

. Meanwhile, coastal floods inundated communities mainly along the coasts of

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

and

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

. In the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, damage from Melissa totaled to around $24,000 (2019

USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introduced the U.S. dollar at par with the Spanish silver dollar, divided it int ...

). As the storm moved out to sea, high winds and power outages were reported in Nova Scotia. No fatalities were reported in association with Melissa.

Meteorological history

On October 6, a

stalled over the southwestern

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

. The cold front began to lift to the northwest, due to an incoming mid-latitude

trough Trough may refer to: In science * Trough (geology), a long depression less steep than a trench * Trough (meteorology), an elongated region of low atmospheric pressure * Trough (physics), the lowest point on a wave * Trough level (medicine), the l ...

across the eastern

. By 18:00 UTC on October 8, a frontal low began to produce tropical storm-force winds, while located roughly 80 miles (130 km) east of

Cape Hatteras Cape Hatteras is a cape located at a pronounced bend in Hatteras Island, one of the barrier islands of North Carolina. As a temperate barrier island, the landscape has been shaped by wind, waves, and storms. There are long stretches of beach ...

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

. The frontal low began to intensify offshore the

on October 9, before merging with an

occluded front In meteorology, an occluded front is a type of weather front formed during cyclogenesis. The classical and usual view of an occluded front is that it starts when a cold front overtakes a warm front near a cyclone, such that the warm air is sepa ...

the next day. The system then began to meander to the southeast of

after being designated as a strong

nor’easter A nor'easter (also northeaster; see below) is a large-scale extratropical cyclone in the western North Atlantic Ocean. The name derives from the direction of the winds that blow from the northeast. Typically, such storms originate as a low-pr ...

. The low then became detached from the occluded front with deep convection developing north of the system’s center, early on October 11. By 6:00 UTC that day, the low was designated as ''Subtropical Storm Melissa'', while located around 210 miles (340 km) south-southeast of

Nantucket, Massachusetts Nantucket () is an island in the state of Massachusetts in the United States, about south of the Cape Cod peninsula. Together with the small islands of Tuckernuck Island, Tuckernuck and Muskeget Island, Muskeget, it constitutes the Town and Co ...

. It was designated as a

subtropical cyclone A subtropical cyclone is a weather system that has some characteristics of both tropical cyclone, tropical and extratropical cyclones. As early as the 1950s, meteorologists were uncertain whether they should be characterized as Tropical cyclone ...

due to its large radius of gale-force winds and its association with an upper-level low. Melissa continued to meander offshore New England for the next 36 hours, as deep

convection Convection is single or Multiphase flow, multiphase fluid flow that occurs Spontaneous process, spontaneously through the combined effects of material property heterogeneity and body forces on a fluid, most commonly density and gravity (see buoy ...

waned and sustained winds decreased. The next day, convection began to increase near the center of the storm. At 12:00 UTC that same day, Melissa was upgraded into a tropical storm after the storm’s gale-force wind field significantly contracted while located about 265 miles (425 km) south-southeast of Nantucket. However just a few hours later, westerly

wind shear Wind shear (; also written windshear), sometimes referred to as wind gradient, is a difference in wind speed and/or direction over a relatively short distance in the atmosphere. Atmospheric wind shear is normally described as either vertical ...

began to degrade convection from the western side of the storm. By 9:00 UTC on October 13, deep convection had become separated from the low-level center, and the structure of the system became disorganized. Despite this, convection began to increase once more, after Melissa moved into more favorable conditions. At this time, the storm also began to accelerate to the east-northeast, around the northern periphery of the Bermuda-Azores High. Just a few hours later, convection decreased for the final time as the inner-core region was taken over by stable cold-air stratocumulus clouds. By early on October 14, Melissa only remained an exposed swirl with decreased convection. After merging with a nearby

frontal boundary A weather front is a boundary separating air masses for which several characteristics differ, such as air density, wind, temperature, and humidity. Disturbed and unstable weather due to these differences often arises along the boundary. For ins ...

, Melissa degenerated into an extratropical low at 12:00 UTC that day, while located roughly 400 miles (645 km) south of Cape Race, Newfoundland. Just 6 hours later, the circulation of the low opened up, and the system dissipated shortly afterwards.

Preparations and impact

New England

Melissa brought high winds and heavy rainfall to portions of

. A peak sustained wind of 49 mph (80 km/h) and a peak gust of 66 mph (106 km/h) reported in Wellfleet. Meanwhile, a peak precipitation amount of 3.43 in (87 mm) was recorded in

Nantucket Nantucket () is an island in the state of Massachusetts in the United States, about south of the Cape Cod peninsula. Together with the small islands of Tuckernuck Island, Tuckernuck and Muskeget Island, Muskeget, it constitutes the Town and Co ...

. Strong wind in Bridgewater downed a tree, which snapped a telecommunication pole and took down power lines. A large tree fell on a house while also downing electrical wires in

New Bedford New Bedford is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast (Massachusetts), South Coast region. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, New Bedford had a ...

. Trees were also downed in Wenham and Walpole. A large tree branch fell on a vehicle in Salem, fortunately causing little damage to the vehicle. Electrical wires were downed in

Harwich Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-west and Clacton-o ...

. A tree fell on power lines in Eastham. A large tree and electrical lines were downed in Easton, and a similar scene was spotted in Fairhaven. In Nantucket, rough surf crashed against a road. Damage across the state was estimated at $23,100 (2019

). In

, a peak wind gust of 43 mph (69 km/h) was reported at the Block Island Jetty on

Block Island Block Island is an island of the Outer Lands coastal archipelago in New England, located approximately south of mainland Rhode Island and east of Long Island's Montauk Point. The island is coterminous with the town of New Shoreham, Rhode Isl ...

. A large branch was downed in

East Greenwich East Greenwich is a town and the county seat of Kent County, Rhode Island. The population was 14,312 at the 2020 census. East Greenwich is the wealthiest municipality within the state of Rhode Island. It is part of the Providence metropolitan s ...

. In Middletown, amateur radio reported that a large tree had fallen. In southwestern

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

, moderate coastal flooding was report, reaching a height of up to 10.1 ft (3.08 m) in Stamford. Total damage in New England reached $24,000 (2019

), with $900 in Rhode Island.

Elsewhere

Melissa brought widespread coastal flooding to

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, and

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. In New Jersey, this coastal flooding shut down parts of the U.S. 30 and 40 highways, as well as New Jersey State Route 37. Coastal flooding on

Long Beach Island Long Beach Island (colloquially known as LBI, The LBI Region, or simply The Island) is a barrier island and summer colony along the Atlantic Ocean coast of Ocean County, New Jersey, United States, on the Jersey Shore. Aligned north to south, ...

prompted the cancellation of the first day of the LBI International Kite Festival. The highest tide since 2016 was reported in

Reedville, Virginia Reedville is an unincorporated area, unincorporated community in Northumberland County, Virginia, Northumberland County in the Northern Neck region of the U.S. state of Virginia. It is located at the eastern terminus of U.S. Route 360 (Northumbe ...

. Road closures occurred due to coastal flooding in parts of Delaware and Maryland. In the former, large surf from the storm caused beach erosion and flooded streets in Bethany Beach while homes and streets were inundated by floodwaters in

Dewey Beach Dewey Beach is an incorporated coastal town in eastern Sussex County, Delaware, United States. According to the 2010 census, the population of the town is 341, an increase of 13.3% over the previous decade. It is part of the rapidly growing Cape ...

. Large waves were also recorded in parts of coastal

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. Melissa caused stormy weather in

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

between October 11–12. Wind gusts between 50–55 mph (80–90 km/h) were reported in the southwestern part of the province. Roughly 3,000 customers of

Nova Scotia Power Nova Scotia Power Inc. is a vertical integration, vertically integrated electric utility in Nova Scotia, Canada. It is privately owned by Emera and regulated by the provincial government via the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board (NSUARB). Nov ...

lost electricity. Strong winds forced a cruise ship to be diverted from Halifax to

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

References

External links

* The NHC'
Advisory Archive on Tropical Storm Melissa
{{DEFAULTSORT:Melissa Melissa (2019)

Melissa Melissa is a feminine given name. The name comes from the Greek language, Greek word μέλισσα (''mélissa''), "bee", which in turn comes from μέλι (''meli''), "honey". In Hittite language, Hittite, ''melit'' signifies "honey". Meliss ...