Fall Nor'easter Becomes Subtropical Storm Melissa, Located Near New England

The fall nor'easter spinning southeast of New England strengthened into Subtropical Storm Melissa on Friday, according to the National Hurricane Center. CNN

The U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said that a nor'easter located off the northeastern United States has become Subtropical Storm Melissa.

The “change in storm status does not change” the expected impacts that the storm may bring, including coastal flooding and wind, the agency wrote at 11 a.m.

Those impacts are expected around portions of the Mid-Atlantic and southeastern New England.

The storm is about 190 miles south of Nantucket, Massachusetts, and it has winds of 65 mph and higher gusts.

The fall nor'easter spinning southeast of New England strengthened into Subtropical Storm Melissa on Friday, according to the National Hurricane Center. CNN

“There are no coastal tropical cyclone watches or warnings in effect,” the agency wrote. The center of Melissa is moving toward the south-southwest near 3 mph, “but little net motion is expected today,” it added.

A turn toward the east-northeast with an increase in speed is forecast on Friday night and will keep up through the weekend.

The storm’s center will move away from the east coast of the United States after that, it said.

In terms of impacts, according to the center, “Wind gusts to 50 mph are likely to continue over portions of Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket through much of today,” USA Today reported.

Coastal flood warnings have been issued along much of the Mid-Atlantic to New England.

“Inundation above ground level could reach 2 to 3 feet at high tide on the Atlantic coast of western Long Island. Coastal inundation of up to 2 to 4 feet can be expected in parts of the northern Outer Banks of North Carolina. Elsewhere, coastal inundations of 1 to 2 feet are expected from the mid-Atlantic coast to southeastern New England,” the Weather Channel wrote.

Snow in Dakotas

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum on Friday activated the state’s emergency plan due to what he called a crippling snowstorm that closed major highways and had farmers and ranchers bracing for huge crop and livestock losses.

“The extraordinary intensity of this early winter storm threatens to test the limits of local response capabilities across a large portion of our state,” Burgum said of the plan that places on standby all agency resources, including the National Guard, to respond to weather-related emergencies.

The National Weather Service issued a blizzard warning for northern North Dakota and winter storm warnings and watches elsewhere in the state and into parts of South Dakota and Minnesota through Saturday afternoon. One to 2 feet of snow was expected to accumulate Friday in parts of North Dakota with winds gusting up to 65 mph.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.