Satellite imagery captured off the north-eastern United States showed Subtropical Storm Josephine being swept towards the open North Atlantic on Thursday, as forecasters reported that the system had become post-tropical and continued to pose coastal hazards.
The image, collected by the GOES-19 satellite at 10.26am UTC on 22 October, showed the storm spinning offshore while a strong frontal system moved south from the Great Lakes region. The front began steering Josephine north-eastwards over the ocean, where a broad area of dense cloud was developing on the storm’s western side.
From nor’easter to named storm
Josephine developed from a large nor’easter off the Eastern Seaboard, strengthening into a subtropical storm at about 9pm UTC on 21 October. It became the tenth named storm of the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season.
Subtropical systems combine features of tropical and non-tropical weather systems. They can draw some energy from warm ocean water, while also drawing energy from contrasts between warm and cold air. Their wind fields are often broader and less symmetrical than those of tropical storms.
The satellite image was taken the morning after Josephine was named. It showed the storm’s cloud pattern and its movement in relation to the approaching front. Satellite observations help meteorologists assess a storm’s structure, including how its clouds and rain bands are arranged, but one image is not a measure of conditions at every point along a coastline.
Later advisory classified Josephine as post-tropical
By 9pm UTC on 22 October, the National Hurricane Center described Josephine as a post-tropical cyclone. Its centre was about 235 miles east-south-east of Nantucket, Massachusetts, and it was moving north-east at around 17 miles an hour. Maximum sustained winds were near 65mph.
The later classification reflects changes in the system’s structure. Forecasters said the cloud pattern had come to resemble a warm frontal band, with little evidence of the curved organisation associated with a tropical cyclone. The circulation was becoming elongated as cold-air clouds increased to its south. The advisory described the system as an extratropical cyclone as well as post-tropical.
Those terms describe the storm’s evolving characteristics; they do not mean that its coastal effects had ended. The advisory said gale-force gusts were possible along parts of the north-eastern United States coast through the evening. Minor to locally moderate coastal flooding was ongoing along parts of the Mid-Atlantic coast and was expected to continue around high tides for the rest of the week.
Surf and rip-current danger remained
Large swells generated by Josephine were affecting much of the Eastern Seaboard and parts of Atlantic Canada. Forecasters warned that the swells could create life-threatening surf and rip-current conditions. These hazards can affect beaches well away from a storm’s centre, even when much of its wind and rain remain offshore.
The advisory said winds of 40mph extended as far as 415 miles from the centre. It also noted that a buoy north of the storm had recently measured sustained winds of 49mph and a gust of 58mph. These measurements describe conditions at that observation point, rather than a uniform wind speed across the wider region.
No coastal watches or warnings were in effect in that advisory. That status did not cancel the specific cautions about possible gusts, ongoing coastal flooding, or dangerous surf and rip currents. People near affected shorelines were directed to follow information from their local weather offices.
Josephine was forecast to keep moving away from the United States, passing south of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. Forecasters expected it to strengthen as an extratropical low, potentially reaching hurricane-force winds over the ocean. That forecast referred to the cyclone’s offshore evolution; it was not a prediction that the system would make landfall or that hurricane-force winds would reach the coast.
The 22 October satellite report therefore documented a storm in transition: named the previous evening, visible offshore in morning imagery, and classified as post-tropical by the later advisory. Its changing structure did not remove the distinct coastal concerns identified by forecasters, while the system’s centre continued northeast over open water.
