Tropical Storm Melissa (2019) Explained

Tropical Storm Melissa
Formed:October 11, 2019
Dissipated:October 14, 2019
Winds:55
Pressure:994
Year:2019
Fatalities:None reported
Damage:24000
Areas:Southeastern United States, Mid-Atlantic States, New England, Atlantic Canada
Season:2019 Atlantic hurricane season

Tropical Storm Melissa was a nor'easter and a short-lived tropical storm that affected portions of the U.S. East Coast and Atlantic Canada in October 2019. The fourteenth depression and thirteenth named storm of the 2019 Atlantic hurricane season, Melissa originated from a cold front that developed over the southwestern Atlantic 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 to the Mid-Atlantic States and New England. Numerous trees and power lines were downed in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Meanwhile, coastal floods inundated communities mainly along the coasts of Delaware and Maryland. In the United States, damage from Melissa totaled to around $24,000 (2019 USD). 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 cold front stalled over the southwestern Atlantic Ocean. The cold front began to lift to the northwest, due to an incoming mid-latitude trough across the eastern United States. 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, North Carolina. The frontal low began to intensify offshore the Mid-Atlantic States on October 9, before merging with an occluded front the next day. The system then began to meander to the southeast of New England after being designated as a strong nor’easter. 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. It was designated as a subtropical cyclone due to its large radius of gale-force winds and its association with an upper-level low.[1]

Melissa continued to meander offshore New England for the next 36 hours, as deep convection waned and sustained winds decreased.[1] [2] The next day, convection began to increase near the center of the storm.[3] 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.[1] However just a few hours later, westerly wind shear began to degrade convection from the western side of the storm.[4] 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.[5]

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.[6] 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.[7] By early on October 14, Melissa only remained an exposed swirl with decreased convection.[8] After merging with a nearby frontal boundary, 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.[1]

Preparations and impact

New England

Melissa brought high winds and heavy rainfall to portions of Massachusetts.[9] 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.[1] Strong wind in Bridgewater downed a tree, which snapped a telecommunication pole and took down power lines.[10] A large tree fell on a house while also downing electrical wires in New Bedford.[11] Trees were also downed in Wenham and Walpole.[12] [13] A large tree branch fell on a vehicle in Salem, fortunately causing little damage to the vehicle.[14] Electrical wires were downed in Harwich.[15] A tree fell on power lines in Eastham.[16] A large tree and electrical lines were downed in Easton, and a similar scene was spotted in Fairhaven.[17] [18] In Nantucket, rough surf crashed against a road.[19] Damage across the state was estimated at $23,100 (2019 USD).[20]

In Rhode Island, a peak wind gust of 43 mph (69 km/h) was reported at the Block Island Jetty on Block Island.[21] A large branch was downed in East Greenwich.[22] In Middletown, amateur radio reported that a large tree had fallen.[23] In southwestern Connecticut, moderate coastal flooding was report, reaching a height of up to 10.1 ft (3.08 m) in Stamford.[24] Total damage in New England reached $24,000 (2019 USD), with $900 in Rhode Island.[20] [25]

Elsewhere

Melissa brought widespread coastal flooding to Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and Virginia. 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 prompted the cancellation of the first day of the LBI International Kite Festival.[26] The highest tide since 2016 was reported in Reedville, Virginia. Road closures occurred due to coastal flooding in parts of Delaware and Maryland.[27] 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.[28] [29] Large waves were also recorded in parts of coastal New York.[30]

Melissa caused stormy weather in Nova Scotia 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 lost electricity. Strong winds forced a cruise ship to be diverted from Halifax to Sydney.[31]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Tropical Cyclone Report - Tropical Storm Melissa. Robbie Berg. National Hurricane Center. nhc.noaa.gov. December 31, 2019. January 18, 2021.
  2. Web site: Subtropical Storm Melissa Discussion Number 3. Robbie Berg. National Hurricane Center. nhc.noaa.gov. October 12, 2019. January 19, 2021.
  3. Web site: Subtropical Storm Melissa Discussion Number 4. John Cangialosi. National Hurricane Center. nhc.noaa.gov. October 12, 2019. January 19, 2021.
  4. Web site: Tropical Storm Melissa Discussion Number 6. National Hurricane Center. nhc.noaa.gov. October 12, 2019. January 19, 2021.
  5. Web site: Tropical Storm Melissa Discussion Number 8. John Cangialosi. National Hurricane Center. nhc.noaa.gov. October 13, 2019. January 19, 2021.
  6. Web site: Tropical Storm Melissa Discussion Number 9. Stacy Stewart. National Hurricane Center. nhc.noaa.gov. October 13, 2019. January 19, 2021.
  7. Web site: Tropical Storm Melissa Discussion Number 10. Stacy Stewart. National Hurricane Center. nhc.noaa.gov. October 13, 2019. January 19, 2021.
  8. Web site: Tropical Storm Melissa Discussion Number 11. Daniel Brown. National Hurricane Center. nhc.noaa.gov. October 14, 2019. January 19, 2021.
  9. News: Subtropical Storm Melissa named as hybrid nor'easter continues to lash coastal New England. Matthew Cappucci. The Washington Post. October 11, 2019. January 18, 2021.
  10. Web site: Storm Events Database — Strong Wind In Bridgewater, Massachusetts. National Centers for Environmental Information. ncdc.noaa.gov. October 10, 2019. January 19, 2021.
  11. Web site: Storm Events Database - Strong Wind In New Bedford, Massachusetts. National Centers for Environmental Information. ncdc.noaa.gov. October 11, 2019. January 19, 2021.
  12. Web site: Storm Events Database — Strong Wind In Eastern Essex. National Centers for Environmental Data. ncdc.noaa.gov. October 10, 2019. January 19, 2021.
  13. Web site: Storm Events Database In Western Norfolk, Massachusetts. National Centers for Environmental Information. ncdc.noaa.gov. October 10, 2019. January 19, 2021.
  14. Web site: Storm Events Database - Strong Wind In Eastern Essex. National Centers for Environmental Information. ncdc.noaa.gov. October 10, 2019. January 19, 2021.
  15. Web site: Storm Events Database — High Wind In Barnstable, Massachusetts. National Centers for Environmental Information. ncdc.noaa.gov. October 10, 2021. January 19, 2021.
  16. Web site: Storm Events Database — High Wind In Barnstable, Massachusetts. National Centers for Environmental Information. ncdc.noaa.gov. October 11, 2019. January 19, 2021.
  17. Web site: Storm Events Database — Strong Wind In Northern Bristol, Massachusetts. National Centers for Environmental Information. ncdc.noaa.gov. October 11, 2019. January 19, 2021.
  18. Web site: Storm Events Database — Strong Wind In Southern Bristol, Massachusetts. National Centers for Environmental Information. ncdc.noaa.gov. October 10, 2019. January 18, 2021.
  19. Web site: Storm Events Database — Coastal Flood In Nantucket, Massachusetts. National Centers for Environmental Information. ncdc.noaa.gov. October 11, 2019. January 19, 2021.
  20. Web site: Massachusetts Event Reports for October 9–12, 2019. National Centers for Environmental Information. ncdc.noaa.gov. January 19, 2021.
  21. Web site: Storm Events Database — High Wind In Block Island. National Centers for Environmental Information. ncdc.noaa.gov. October 10, 2019. January 19, 2021.
  22. Web site: Storm Events Database — Strong Wind In Eastern Kent, Rhode Island. National Centers for Environmental Information. ncdc.noaa.gov. October 10, 2019. January 19, 2021.
  23. Web site: Storm Events Database — Strong Wind In Newport, Rhode Island. National Centers for Environmental Information. ncdc.noaa.gov. October 10, 2019. January 19, 2021.
  24. Web site: Storm Events Database — Coastal Flood in Southern Fairfield, Connecticut. National Centers for Environmental Information. ncdc.noaa.gov. October 11, 2019. January 19, 2021.
  25. Web site: Rhode Island Event Reports for October 9–12, 2019. National Centers for Environmental Information. ncdc.noaa.gov. January 19, 2021.
  26. Web site: Storm off the coast causes flooding at Jersey Shore. Katherine Scott. 6abc Philadelphia. 6abc.com. October 11, 2019. January 19, 2021.
  27. Web site: Tropical Storm Melissa Brought Coastal Flooding, Beach Erosion, Rough Surf and Rip Currents to the Eastern Seaboard. The Weather Channel. weather.com. October 13, 2019. January 19, 2021.
  28. News: Mallory Metzner. Nor'easter Causes Bethany Beach Erosion. WBOC-TV. Salisbury, Maryland. October 11, 2019. January 19, 2021.
  29. News: Spencer Tracy. Coastal Flooding Impacts Dewey Beach. WBOC-TV. Salisbury, Maryland. October 11, 2019. January 19, 2021.
  30. Web site: October Surprise: Nor'easter Turns Subtropical Storm Melissa. Charlie Hutcherson. Surfline. surfline.com. October 11, 2019. January 19, 2021.
  31. Web site: Subtropical Storm Melissa causes Maritime power outages. CTV News. atlantic.ctvnews.ca. October 12, 2019. January 19, 2021.