What we covered here
• Strongest storm this year: Melissa underwent extreme rapid intensification, strengthening to a rare Category 5 with winds of 175 mph and stronger gusts, making it the strongest storm on the planet this year.
• Jamaica’s worst hurricane: Melissa’s outer bands are lashing Jamaica with strong winds and heavy rain. Mandatory evacuation orders have been issued for vulnerable coastal areas of Jamaica ahead of the unprecedented storm’s expected landfall Tuesday morning.
• Catastrophic impact: Up to 40 inches of rain, 13 feet of storm surge and 160 mph sustained winds will cause “extensive infrastructure damage” that will cut off communities, the National Hurricane Center warned. Melissa has already killed three people in Haiti and Jamaica each and one person in the Dominican Republic.
Our live coverage has moved here.
Could Melissa be strengthening further?
Melissa remains a Category 5 hurricane with winds of 175 mph as of 2 a.m. ET, according to the National Hurricane Center. However, the minimum central pressure of the storm has decreased from 909 millibars Monday evening to 901 millibars early Tuesday.
In general, the lower the pressure, the stronger the storm, so this drop indicates that Melissa may be gaining strength in the coming hours. For reference, Hurricane Katrina’s lowest pressure was 902 mb, making Melissa even more intense than the 2005 storm that devastated Louisiana.
NOAA Hurricane Hunters continue to fly into the storm to collect valuable wind data, so we will stay tuned to see if they find stronger winds in Melissa’s eyewall this morning ahead of its projected landfall.
Melissa's water, not wind, poses the biggest threat to life and property
There’s been a lot of focus on Melissa’s violent winds — for good reason — but the storm’s water impacts could be even more catastrophic.
Destructive, life-threatening flooding and surge will accompany Melissa, especially in Jamaica. Even if the hurricane’s winds weaken, the water won’t.
Melissa is expected to dump feet of rain across the northern Caribbean. Jamaica faces the worst of it, with 20 to 30 inches likely and isolated totals topping 40 inches in the eastern mountains. That kind of rain means life-threatening flash floods and landslides.
Southern Haiti could see up to a foot of rain, and parts of eastern Cuba may get up to 25 inches, enough to trigger widespread flooding and mudslides.
On top of that, Melissa’s powerful onshore winds will drive a storm surge up to 13 feet along Jamaica’s southern coast early Tuesday — water that can push well inland and cut off entire communities.
Hurricane Melissa is fast approaching Jamaica. Here’s how to stay safe after the storm
Hurricane Melissa is expected to make landfall in Jamaica Tuesday, bringing severe winds and flooding. For survivors, the dangers don’t end when the storm passes — hidden hazards like mold, structural damage and contaminated floodwater can complicate recovery.
Here’s how to stay safe and begin recovery:
- Wait for the all-clear: Don’t return home until local officials say it’s safe. Flooded roads are extremely dangerous – remember, “Turn around, don’t drown.”
- Inspect carefully: Once you’re home, look for loose power lines, gas leaks or structural damage before entering. Use a flashlight instead of candles to avoid igniting any leaking gas.
- Take precautions with floodwater: Avoid contact with floodwater, which may carry bacteria, debris, or electrical hazards. If your home is flooded, wait for professionals to confirm it’s safe to enter. Dry everything thoroughly, as mold can spread quickly.
- Document damage: If you have damage, document it with photos before cleaning and contact your insurance company.
- Power outage risks: Never use a generator indoors or in a garage, as carbon monoxide poisoning can be deadly. Stay hydrated and avoid overexertion in the heat.
- Don’t overlook mental health: “Stress, anxiety, and other depression-like symptoms are common reactions after a disaster,” the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration says. As logistical challenges pile on top of emotional strain, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns against trying to shoulder it all alone. Doing so, they say, could hinder your recovery.
Popular Jamaican tourist spot "Lovers Leap" lashed with strong winds
Lovers Leap, a popular tourist destination in Jamaica with scenic views and a tragic legend of star-crossed lovers, is experiencing strong winds as Hurricane Melissa bears down on the island.
This dramatic cliffside, soaring 1,700 feet above the sea, is home to a folktale dating back hundreds of years. Local lore tells of star-crossed lovers who, escaping a jealous plantation owner, leaped from the edge only to be caught in a golden net by the moon.
The site’s panoramic view also made it a strategic choice for the Jamaica Port Authority to construct a lighthouse there, which, according to Visit Jamaica, is the highest in the Western Hemisphere.
The higher elevation means wind gusts from Melissa will be more powerful than at ground level. This is because friction from trees, buildings and natural terrain slows the air flow near the surface, while the wind above remains unobstructed.
Where Melissa ranks on list of strongest Atlantic storms (so far)
Hurricane Melissa is in rare territory for an Atlantic storm, both in terms of its maximum sustained winds of 175 mph and its extremely low air pressure reading. However, there have been storms stronger than this one in the Atlantic Ocean Basin.
Some of them have occurred in just the past few years, such as Hurricanes Milton, Dorian and Irma, each of which had stronger maximum sustained winds than Melissa. Dorian’s maximum sustained winds peaked at 185 mph in 2019, while Milton and Irma maxed out at 180 mph.
Of all Atlantic storms, Hurricane Allen in 1980 is the one to beat – with top winds of 190 mph.
Using wind speed alone, Melissa is solidly among the top 20 strongest Atlantic hurricanes, with the potential to move up in ranking if it intensifies further overnight.
Ranked using its surface air pressure, the storm is even more impressive – it’s number 6 of the top 10 most intense storms since 1979 (when such reliable data began), according to Colorado State University hurricane researcher Philip Klotzbach.
In general, lower pressure equals a stronger storm, including wind speeds. Melissa, with a central pressure of 901 millibars thus far, is stronger than Katrina and stands in line only behind such notorious storms as Wilma and Rita.
Strongest storm on the planet this year is "hitting just that tiny dot on the world's map," says Jamaica resident
A Kingston resident says the threat posed by approaching Hurricane Melissa “has really taken a toll” on Jamaicans.
“We are we’re very concerned. Strongest storm on the planet … hitting just that tiny dot on on the world’s map,” Steve Dunn, owner of Dunn’s Jamaica Home Center, told CNN’s Laura Coates Monday night.
Dunn kept his hardware store open despite Melissa’s threat to help his community prepare for the storm.
“We we have opened the store for people to come and get basic necessities. Products, generators, sandbags, plyboard,” he said, to ensure “people can protect their properties and protect their families and homes.”
Dunn, said he doesn’t “think we can ever be prepared for something as a Category 5.”
It’s a “whole lot more wind force … everything,” he said. “It’s really hard on us.”
Jamaican community in New York prays for families back home as Hurricane Melissa nears landfall
With Hurricane Melissa inching its way north in the Caribbean, Brooklyn’s Jamaican community in New York is holding its breath — and praying for loved ones back home, CNN affiliate WABC reports.
For many Jamaicans, Melissa brings back memories of Hurricane Gilbert, which devastated the island in 1988 and killed at least 40 people. Gilbert hit the island nation as a Category 4 storm. Forecasters say Melissa is likely to maintain Category 5 strength when it makes landfall Tuesday.
“A lot of these people have lived through Gilbert, and they know what’s about to come (is) worse,” Michelle Robinson, an attorney who splits her time between Kingston and Brooklyn, told WABC.
In Crown Heights, Vinetta McIntosh stays tuned to the latest updates, with an eye toward her new home in Falmouth, Jamaica. The home was built with cinder blocks, but McIntosh says Falmouth sits “pretty low” and is prone to flooding.
“Even when I go to church on Sunday, I pray, write up requests and ask for prayer for the whole country, the island,” McIntosh said.
"Total structural failure" possible
The National Hurricane Center issued a stark warning for those in Jamaica Monday night as powerful Category 5 Hurricane Melissa closes in:
“Remain in your safe shelter. Catastrophic flash flooding and numerous landslides are expected through Tuesday. The eyewall’s destructive winds may cause total structural failure, particularly in higher elevations, leading to widespread infrastructural damage, prolonged power and communication outages, and isolated communities.
Along the southern coast, life-threatening storm surge and damaging waves are anticipated through Tuesday. Failure to take immediate action may result in serious injury or significant loss of life.”
Crews clear a river in Jamaica to lower flood risk as Hurricane Melissa approaches
Crews in Montego Bay on Monday took last-minute measures to prevent potential flooding ahead of Hurricane Melissa’s expected landfall.
Video show workers clearing a small river by excavating debris to reduce the risk of flooding.
“We are anticipating huge impact,” Montego Bay Mayor Richard Vernon told Reuters, adding teams are “used to being in this level of preparedness.”
The worst storm surge in Montego Bay is expected Tuesday mid to late afternoon after the center of the storm passes.
Hurricane Melissa begins its northward turn, aiming at Jamaica
Melissa remains a Category 5 hurricane with winds of 175 mph as of 11 p.m. ET, according to the National Hurricane Center. However, the minimum central pressure of the storm has decreased slightly, indicating the potential for intensification in the coming hours. In general, the lower the pressure, the stronger the storm.
The hurricane has finally begun its northward turn, moving north-northeast at 2 mph after crawling westward for most of the day.
Melissa is still likely to be a ferocious Category 5 hurricane at landfall late Tuesday morning, though minor fluctuations in its top wind speed until that point are possible.
Beyond Jamaica, Melissa is still forecast to slam Cuba as a major hurricane late Tuesday night or early Wednesday morning. From there, it will impact portions of the Bahamas and surrounding areas.
The core of Melissa is expected to move near or over Jamaica on Tuesday, across southeastern Cuba Wednesday morning, and across the southeastern or central Bahamas later on Wednesday, according to the hurricane center.
A hurricane warning remains in effect for the southeastern and central Bahamas while a tropical storm warning is in effect for the Turks and Caicos Islands. These warnings indicate powerful wind gusts are likely to start within 36 hours.
The moment US Air Force plane flies into the eye of Hurricane Melissa
The US Air Force released video showing what it looked like as a Hurricane Hunter plane flew into the eye of Hurricane Melissa on Monday.
The crew made multiple passes through the storm to collect weather data for the National Hurricane Center.
Where is Melissa now?
Hurricane Melissa is a ferocious Category 5 storm spinning about 150 miles southwest of Kingston, Jamaica with sustained winds of 175 mph. It is one of the most intense hurricanes ever recorded in the Atlantic Ocean.
The satellite view shows a perfectly symmetrical buzz-saw structure — a textbook major hurricane with a clear, round eye and dense, spiraling bands wrapping tightly around its core.
Melissa’s slow crawl means Jamaica will be under its grip for many hours once the center nears land.
Kingston’s streets are empty as Hurricane Melissa approaches Jamaica
The streets of Jamaica’s capital Kingston were empty Monday evening as its residents prepare for the wrath Hurricane Melissa is expected to bring to the island nation.
Video shared with CNN by a resident Monday showed very few cars traveling down quiet roads.
The streets appeared wet from the rainfall, with the sky overcast and cloudy.
The city, which has a population of just over 600,000, according to the World Population Review, is already starting to feel some strong winds and rain as the storm inches closer.
While the eye of the Category 5 hurricane remains offshore, it has already inflicted some damage to the island. At least three people died as they were preparing for the storm, Minister of Health and Wellness Christopher Tufton said Monday night.
This post has been updated.
Melissa's earliest rain bands down trees, trigger landslides and take out power lines in Jamaica
While Category 5 Hurricane Melissa remains well offshore, its outer rain bands and gusty winds have begun to lash the island. Emergency responders in Jamaica have received reports of fallen trees, landslides and downed power lines.
“We’ve responded and removed impediments and… reopened all but one of the roads that have been blocked,” said Jamaican minister Robert Morgan in a news conference late Monday.
“We continue to urge people to exercise extreme caution… rock falls are an imminent threat,” he said.
Of more than 800 shelters across Jamaica, only 76 are in use, housing about 970 people, according to Minister Desmond McKenzie, who said the number is expected to rise as the storm approaches.
When will Hurricane Melissa make landfall in Jamaica?
There’s a lot of focus on when Melissa will officially make landfall in Jamaica, but that moment isn’t the most important part of this storm.
Right now, Melissa is still crawling northwest at 2 mph and the eye of the hurricane is likely to reach the southern coast of Jamaica sometime on Tuesday morning.
But the buzz-saw-like storm’s worst impacts will start hours earlier.
- Tropical-storm-force sustained winds (up to 73 mph) with higher gusts will spread across Jamaica after midnight
- Hurricane conditions will likely begin just before sunrise Tuesday. This means sustained winds of 74 mph up to 175 mph as the core approaches. Gusts could be over 200 mph, particularly in the mountains.
Because Melissa is moving so slowly, its damaging winds, flooding rain, and storm surge will last far longer than just the moment of landfall.
In other words: the clock doesn’t start when the eye crosses the coast — the storm is already arriving.
Climate change is likely worsening Hurricane Melissa
Hurricane Melissa’s intensification into the strongest storm on Earth so far this year, and one of the strongest storms on record in the Atlantic Ocean, was fueled by unusually hot ocean temperatures in the Caribbean.
The storm underwent two periods of rapid intensification, with its maximum sustained winds first jumping from 70 mph on Saturday morning to 140 mph just 24 hours later.
Then from Sunday afternoon through Monday afternoon its peak winds spiked again, going from 140 mph to 175 mph.
Such bouts of rapid intensification are becoming more frequent as the climate warms. Hurricane Melissa is only the latest in a string of intense Atlantic hurricanes this year to undergo such extreme rapid strengthening.
According to the climate science research group Climate Central, the ocean temperatures in the vicinity of Hurricane Melissa’s path were about 2.5 degrees Fahrenheit above average for this time of the year.
The group calculated that along the entire path of the storm so far, the unusually hot sea surface temperatures were at least 500 to 800 times more likely due to global warming.
Studies also show that climate change is causing hurricanes to produce heavier rainfall than they would have in past decades because warmer air holds more moisture.
Hurricane response will take "far more resources than Jamaica has to recover," says prime minister
If Hurricane Melissa does make landfall as a Category 5 hurricane, recovery efforts will take “far more resources than Jamaica has to recover,” Prime Minister Andrew Holness told CNN’s Anderson Cooper Monday evening.
Holness said the island nation has prepared a “multi-layered response,” and within two weeks of the storm’s landfall, they should be able to mount a humanitarian response and meet residents’ immediate needs.
“But the long-term recovery and the medium-term recovery would require support,” he said.
The prime minister said he anticipates “major damage to our road infrastructure, bridges, drains, and possibly some damage to ports and airports.”
The country has a recovery plan for infrastructure that they hope to initiate quickly, he said.
There are 850 shelters across the island, enough to accommodate over 20,000 people, Holness said.
Honeymooners stranded in Jamaica brace for Melissa
A pair of American honeymooners stranded in Jamaica are bracing for the hurricane to make impact.
Adam and Jordan Simmons told CNN’s Anderson Cooper that they arrived in Jamaica Tuesday for their honeymoon. By Saturday, when Melissa officially became a hurricane, there were no more flights leaving the country, Jordan Simons said.
Despite the anxiety of the pending storm, “the vibes are still positive” at the resort where the couple is staying on the outskirts of Montego Bay, Adam Simmons said. “Obviously, the staff is trying to make sure that we’re okay, and then we’re trying to reciprocate that and make sure the staff is okay.”
Per the resort’s instructions, the pair will be on “lockdown” in their rooms tonight and will move to an on-site shelter tomorrow morning, which the resort created by boarding up the walls of two restaurants.
“They did recommend that we get ready with our essentials, our medicines, a couple changes of clothes,” Adam Simmons said. “We’re just waiting.”
Three people died in Jamaica during storm preparations, minister says
At least three people died in Jamaica as they were preparing for the approaching Hurricane Melissa, Minister of Health and Wellness Christopher Tufton said Monday night.
All three deaths happened while trees were being cut down. Two of them died after trees fell on top of them, and one person was electrocuted, the minister said without providing details.
Another 13 people have been injured during preparations. Many of them fell off ladders or rooftops, the minister said.
Other fatalities: Melissa has already killed three people in Haiti and one person in the Dominican Republic.