Hurricane Melissa continued racing northeast across the Atlantic on Thursday, with the National Hurricane Center warning that conditions in Bermuda will rapidly deteriorate by late afternoon as the storm passes to the island’s northwest tonight.
At 2 p.m. EDT, Melissa’s center was located about 430 miles west-southwest of Bermuda with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center. The Category 2 hurricane was moving northeast at 30 mph and is expected to transition into a strong post-tropical system by Friday night.
A hurricane warning remains in effect for Bermuda, where tropical-storm-force winds are expected to begin by late afternoon and hurricane conditions tonight. Coastal flooding from storm surge and up to an inch of rain are possible as outer bands sweep across the island.
Melissa earlier made a catastrophic landfall in Jamaica as a Category 5 hurricane earlier this week, causing widespread destruction across the island before weakening as it moved north.
It later struck Cuba’s northern coast as a Category 3 hurricane, bringing heavy rain, flooding, and wind damage before moving out over open water. The National Hurricane Center said flooding in Jamaica, Cuba and Hispaniola could persist for several more days.
While Melissa poses no direct wind or rain threat to the United States, forecasters said its large swells will reach the East Coast and Atlantic Canada by Friday, creating life-threatening surf and rip current conditions through the weekend.
The storm is expected to weaken steadily after passing Bermuda, with maximum sustained winds dropping below hurricane strength on Friday. By early next week, the system is forecast to move across the northern Atlantic as a post-tropical cyclone.
For the latest information on Hurricane Melissa, visit hurricanes.gov