Hurricane Melissa: Storm makes landfall in Jamaica

Hurricane Melissa approached Jamaica early Tuesday, a monstrous Category 5 storm packing devastating winds and torrential rains as the strongest storm ever to impact the Caribbean island.

While Jamaica has experienced hurricanes for centuries, the strongest storm to hit the island was Hurricane Gilbert in 1988. Gilbert approached as a Category 4 storm, but Evan Thompson, the chief of the Meteorological Service of Jamaica, said it crossed Jamaica as a Category 3.

Powerlines down

Update 2:41 p.m. ET Oct. 28: Powerlines across Jamaica are down, as is the internet in some areas.

Only 2% of Hanover parish in the northwest portion of the island could connect earlier Tuesday afternoon, CNN reported.

Bridges and roads are flooded, the country’s National Works Agency said on social media.

Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department told U.S. citizens to depart ASAP if still possible if they are in the path of the hurricane; otherwise, they should prepare to shelter in place, The Associated Press reported.

The United Nations said Cuba was planning to evacuate about half a million people. The U.N. is gathering humanitarian aid for Jamaica, Cuba and Haiti.

Those in Jamaica taking shelter noted that the noise is never-ending.

“The noise is relentless,” Mercy Corps adviser Colin Bogle told the AP. “People are anxious and just trying to hold on until the storm passes.” He said the area where he is sheltering with his grandmother in Portmore had an explosion, then everything went dark Tuesday morning.

Losing some strength

Update 2:11 p.m. ET Oct. 28: The National Hurricane Center said that the winds of Hurricane Melissa have decreased by about 20mph and were at 165 mph about an hour after making landfall. The winds are still catastrophic and flash flooding and storm surge are still hitting the island, CNN reported.

Landfall

Update 1:03 p.m. ET Oct. 28: Hurricane Melissa has made landfall in Jamaica as a Category 5 storm, the National Hurricane Center said.

It hit near New Hope, Jamaica, with 185 mph winds. It is officially the strongest hurricane to hit the country and one of the strongest to make landfall in the Atlantic basin. It is tied with Dorian in 2019 and 1935’s Labor Day storm, CNN reported.

Landfall expected in a few hours

Update 10:59 a.m. ET Oct. 28: In its 11 a.m. ET advisory, the National Hurricane Center said that the core of Hurricane Melissa is expected to make landfall on Jamaica during the next few hours.

Maximum sustained winds near the eye of the storm remain at 185 mph, with gusts higher. The central barometric pressure of the storm remained at 892 millibars.

The hurricane center will publish an intermediate advisory at 2 p.m. ET.

Hurricane’s high winds moving onshore

Update 10:07 a.m. ET Oct. 28: The National Hurricane Center said in a special 10 a.m. update that Hurricane Melissa’s maximum sustained winds, which have increased to 185 mph, are moving onshore.

The central barometric pressure of the storm continues to drop, falling to 892 millibars at 10 a.m. ET.

Melissa’s center was located about 45 miles south-southeast of Negril, Jamaica, and about 255 miles southwest of Guantanamo, Cuba.

The hurricane center will issue a full advisory at 11 a.m. ET.

Storm strengthens to 180 mph

Update 9:09 a.m. ET Oct. 28: The National Hurricane Center said in a special update that Hurricane Melissa’s maximum sustained winds have increased to 180 mph.

As the storm approaches west of Kingston, the central barometric pressure of the storm continues to drop, falling to 896 millibars at 9 a.m. ET.

Melissa’s center was located about 50 miles south-southeast of Negril, Jamaica, and about 260 miles southwest of Guantanamo, Cuba.

The hurricane center will issue another update at 10 a.m. ET.

Storm creeping closer to Jamaica

Update 7:57 a.m. ET Oct. 28: In its 8 a.m. ET intermediate advisory on Tuesday, the National Hurricane Center reported Melissa’s center about 55 miles south-southeast of Negril, Jamaica, and about 265 miles southwest of Guantanamo, Cuba. The storm was packing maximum sustained winds estimated near 175 mph and was moving toward the north-northeast at 7 mph.

“Little change in strength is expected before Melissa makes landfall on Jamaica,” the hurricane center said in a statement. “Catastrophic winds, flash flooding and storm surge is expected on the island.”

The NHC will issue a full advisory at 11 a.m. ET.

Original report: Melissa is the third Category 5 storm to form in the Atlantic basin this hurricane season. The only season with more Category 5s was 2005, when four reached the highest level on the Saffir-Simpson scale.

Melissa currently poses no threat to the United States mainland.

At 5 a.m. ET on Tuesday, the National Hurricane Center reported Melissa’s center about 115 miles west-southwest of Kingston, Jamaica, and 290 miles southwest of Guantanamo, Cuba. The storm was packing maximum sustained winds estimated near 175 mph and was moving slowly toward the north-northeast at 5 mph.

According to the hurricane center, Melissa was expected to make landfall near the Black River on Jamaica’s southwestern coast before moving inland sometime Tuesday.

Melissa is forecast to hit the eastern portion of Cuba near Santiago de Cuba between late Tuesday and early Wednesday as a Category 3 storm, with winds expected to top 115 mph.

“Melissa is expected to reach Jamaica and southeastern Cuba as an extremely dangerous major hurricane, and it will still be at hurricane strength when it moves across the southeastern Bahamas” on Wednesday, the hurricane center said in its 5 a.m. advisory.

Residents in Jamaica were preparing for the worst, expecting catastrophic flooding, landslides and widespread damage.

By early Tuesday, the central barometric pressure of the storm had dropped to 901 millibars. That is the third-lowest pressure for an October hurricane in the Atlantic basin since pressures were first recorded in 1979, according to Colorado State University hurricane research scientist Phil Klotzbach. The lowest pressures measured during an actual storm are 882 millibars, set by Hurricane Wilma in 2005; and 895 millibars, achieved by Hurricane Milton in 2024.

The 1935 Labor Day Hurricane reportedly measured 892 millibars and had winds of approximately 185 mph when it came onshore in the Florida Keys on Oct. 2, 1935.

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