Hurricane Melissa Approaches Jamaica as a Powerful Storm

Hurricane Melissa snappily strengthened into a major order 5 early Monday morning as meteorologists advised the storm could beget disastrous flash flooding, deadly landslides and destructive winds across the Caribbean. In Miami, the U.S. National Hurricane Center( NHC) prompted people in the path of the storm to take sanctum and stay put in Jamaica as the storm drenches the islet nation and creates life- hanging conditions from Monday into Tuesday.

Melissa is projected to make landfall in Jamaica early Tuesday and wind toward southeastern Cuba by Tuesday night as a still- violent order 3. It's anticipated to move across the southeastern Bahamas on Wednesday as a order 2. Government officers in Jamaica are listed to hold a press conference at 11 30 a.m. Monday as the island already has tropical Caribbean weather.

At 8 a.m. ET, the center of Jamaica storm was approximately 135 miles southwest of Kingston, Jamaica’s capital, according to the NHC. Moving west at 3 mph with maximum sustained winds of 160 mph, Melissa is at the top of the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale and could still intensify further, the NHC said.

The tropical storm warning to hit the region since 1988’s Hurricane Gilbert. Total downfall could reach 15 to 30 elevation with insulated areas of the country seeing as much as 40 elevation. The hurricane will beget extreme winds, major structure damage and life- hanging storm swell along the southern seacoast of the islet.

Catastrophic hurricane is the third order 5 hurricane of the 2025 season, matching the census not reached since 2005. Hurricane- force winds in Jamaica will exceed 200 mph in mountainous regions, according to the NHC. As of Monday morning, Jamaica disaster alert 881 harbors were open with 218 people formerly taking retreat from the storm.