MIAMI, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Tropical Storm Melissa formed in the Atlantic Ocean west of the Cape Verde Islands on Saturday but was expected to fizzle in a few days without threatening land, forecasters at the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

At 5 a.m. (0900 GMT), the 13th named storm of the year in the Atlantic basin was about 260 miles (420 km) west-southwest of Cape Verde and had top winds of 40 mph (65 kmh). It was moving westward at 3 mph (6 kph) on a course that would keep it well out to sea.

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