Hurricane Melissa has strengthened rapidly in the Caribbean and could soon explode into a major Category 4 or 5 storm, according to the latest update from the National Hurricane Center (NHC). The system, which formed as Tropical Storm Melissa earlier this week, made landfall in Kingston, Jamaica, on Friday before intensifying into a full hurricane on October 25.
The NHC warns that Melissa poses “perilous threats of rain, winds, and storm surge” to the northern Caribbean islands, including Jamaica, Cuba, and Hispaniola. The forecasters are warning of a “Slow-Motion Disaster” for Jamaica and the Northern Caribbean.
Although the hurricane is expected to move northeast out of the Caribbean over the next five days, it will not directly impact the U.S. mainland.
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“It’s looking quite likely we will have several days of flooding and then potentially a devastating core impact near or directly over the island,” said Andrew Hazelton, associate scientist at the University of Miami’s Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies, in an Oct. 24 post on X.
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The forecast is particularly alarming for Jamaica, where rainfall totals exceeding 24 inches, with localized amounts above 30 inches, are expected. “Melissa is evolving into a slow-motion disaster,” warned AccuWeather hurricane expert Alex DaSilva. “Millions of people are at risk of catastrophic impacts. We are increasingly concerned about the threat of a humanitarian disaster unfolding.”
