Hurricane Melissa, now a powerful Category 5 storm with sustained winds of 160 mph, is battering Jamaica with destructive winds, storm surge and catastrophic flooding, according to the National Hurricane Center’s 8 a.m. advisory Monday.
The storm’s distinct eye was located about 135 miles southwest of Kingston, Jamaica, and moving west at 3 mph. The U.S. Coast Guard and Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter aircraft investigating the storm measured a minimum central pressure of 913 millibars, confirming Melissa’s extreme strength.
Forecasters said Melissa is expected to slowly turn northwest and then north through tonight before accelerating northeastward on Tuesday and continuing in that direction through at least Thursday. On its current track, the hurricane’s core will move over or near Jamaica tonight and Tuesday, across southeastern Cuba Tuesday night, and then near the southeastern Bahamas on Wednesday.
While Melissa is forecast to bring catastrophic impacts to Jamaica and parts of Cuba, the system is not currently projected to make landfall in the continental United States. However, the National Hurricane Center urged interests in Bermuda and along the U.S. East Coast to monitor the storm’s progress as it moves northward later this week.
A hurricane warning remains in effect for Jamaica and several provinces in eastern Cuba, with hurricane watches posted for the southeastern and central Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands. Haiti and parts of Cuba’s Las Tunas province are under tropical storm warnings.
Melissa is expected to produce up to 30 inches of rain in Jamaica and 20 inches in parts of eastern Cuba, causing “life-threatening and potentially catastrophic flash flooding with numerous landslides,” the hurricane center said. Rainfall totals of up to 16 inches are also possible across southern Hispaniola.
Life-threatening storm surge of up to 13 feet is possible along Jamaica’s south coast, with additional surge potential of up to 9 feet along southeastern Cuba’s coastline. Large swells from Melissa will also affect parts of the Caribbean and are expected to reach the Bahamas, the Turks and Caicos Islands, and Bermuda later this week, creating dangerous surf and rip currents.
For updated information, residents are urged to follow local authorities and visit hurricanes.gov