Topline
Hurricane Melissa is expected to smash into Jamaica on Tuesday and is expected to bring devastating flash flooding, landslides and winds once it makes landfall as the strongest storm in the hurricane season so far.
Timeline
Melissa could bring 15-30 inches of rainfall to Jamaica, the National Hurricane Center said, while the storm surge could reach up to 13 feet above ground level areas close to where the storm makes landfall.
Power is out for about 240,000 customers, or 35% of all customers of the country’s utility company Jamaica Public Service, Daryl Paz, Jamaica’s Minister for Energy, Science, Telecommunications and Transport said at a press conference.
Hurricane Melissa’s eyewall began approaching the shore of Jamaica, and officials warned this was the last chance for residents to find shelter as wind speeds are expected to rise quickly after the eye passes.
Wind speeds strengthened to 185 miles per hour, tying the record for the second-strongest Atlantic hurricane on record (the strongest was Hurricane Allen in 1980, which sustained speeds up to 190 miles per hour).
Hurricane Melissa’s eye is expected to reach Jamaica in the “next few hours,” the National Hurricane Center said in an update, warning residents to remain sheltered while the storm passes.
Melissa is now sustaining wind speeds of up to 180 miles per hour, forecasters said.
Key Background
Melissa formed as a tropical storm in the Caribbean on Tuesday, October 21 before strengthening into a hurricane on Saturday. Melissa is set to become the strongest hurricane Jamaica has ever seen since record keeping began, the Associated Press reported. “For Jamaica, it will be the storm of the century for sure” Anne-Claire Fontan, a tropical cyclone specialist at the World Meteorological Organization, told reporters at a press briefing, labeling the upcoming storm a “catastrophic situation” for the island nation. Forecasters at the NHC warned Jamaicans to seek shelter, predicting flash flooding, landslides, destructive winds and life-threatening storm surge on Jamaica’s coast. These conditions could damage infrastructure, isolate communities on the island and cut off power and communications on the island. “Total structural failure is possible near the path of Melissa’s center,” the NHC added.
Where Else Will Melissa Strike?
Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center expect Melissa to move northeast, passing eastern Cuba and Hispaniola. Flash flooding and landslides are expected in Haiti through this week, which could potentially isolate communities in the Caribbean nation. The southern Dominican Republic could also see similar conditions, the NHS warned. Forecasters are expecting similar rainfall, flash flooding, damaging winds and landslides in eastern Cuba, as well as a life-threatening storm surge. The storm is expected to move towards the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands on Wednesday.