Hurricane Melissa, now a powerful Category 5 storm, is set to be Jamaica’s worst storm in history.
Hurricane Melissa, now a powerful Category 5 storm, is set to be Jamaica’s worst storm in history.
Hurricane Melissa is still gaining strength.
Hurricane Melissa strengthened into a Category 5 storm as it churned northwest through the Caribbean Sea toward Jamaica on Monday, according to the latest advisory from the National Hurricane Center (NHC).
With torrential rainfall over the next few days, both Jamaica and the island of Hispaniola — consisting of Haiti and the Dominican Republic — could receive 15 to 30 inches of rain.
Some parts of the southern peninsula of Haiti and Jamaica potentially could receive up to 40 inches of rain, likely resulting in catastrophic and life-threatening flash flooding, as well as numerous landslides.
Key Headlines
Here’s how the news is developing.
15 minutes ago
Hurricane Melissa upgraded to Category 5
The National Hurricane Center on Monday upgraded Hurricane Melissa to a Category 5 hurricane as the storm approached the coast of Jamaica.
The NHC reported sustained winds of 160 mph for the hurricane, which is located 130 miles from the Jamaican capital of Kingston and moving west at 3 mph.
Destructive winds, storm surge and “catastrophic flooding” are forecast to worsen on Jamaica through Monday ahead of the storm making landfall, the NHC said in a post to X.
-ABC News’ Kenton Gewecke
Oct 26, 2025, 9:14 PM EDT
The latest on Melissa’s track and a look at hurricane watches and warnings
As Melissa continues churning in the Caribbean, hurricane warnings remain in effect for Jamaica and portions of eastern Cuba, with a Hurricane Watch in effect for portions of southern Haiti, from the border with the Dominican Republic to Port-Au-Prince.
A tropical storm warning remains in effect for the southwestern peninsula of Haiti from the border with the Dominican Republic to Port-Au-Prince, and for the Cuban province of Las Tunas.
Melissa will head to the northeast over Jamaica on Tuesday and is still expected to make a second landfall over eastern Cuba by Tuesday night as a major hurricane.
The storm is expected to weaken but maintain its hurricane status as it tracks near or over the southeastern Bahamas or Turks and Caicos Islands Wednesday night into Thursday.
Oct 26, 2025, 7:21 PM EDT
Jamaica’s airports close as island braces for storm’s impact
All airports in Jamaica were closed Sunday ahead of Melissa’s landfall, the country’s transportation minister said.
In addition, Starlink, the telecommunications subsidiary of SpaceX, has provided support to the government to help with communication capability during and after the storm’s passage.
Oct 26, 2025, 7:19 PM EDT
Melissa could be strongest hurricane to hit Jamaica in more than 35 years
Hurricane Melissa has rapidly intensified into a major Category 4 storm, producing maximum sustained wind speeds of 145 mph.
If it maintains its strength, it could become the strongest hurricane to make landfall over the island since the National Hurricane Center started keeping records.
The strongest hurricane on record to make landfall over Jamaica was Hurricane Gilbert in 1988, a Category 4 hurricane, with sustained winds of 130 mph.
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