Overview
- The National Hurricane Center reports Melissa at Category 5 strength with sustained winds near 160–165 mph, moving at roughly 3 mph toward an early Tuesday landfall in Jamaica.
- Forecasts call for 15–30 inches of rain across Jamaica with local totals up to about 40 inches in the east, plus a life‑threatening storm surge near 13 feet along the southern coast.
- Authorities have closed both international airports, opened roughly 881 shelters, and issued targeted evacuation orders for vulnerable coastal and flood‑prone communities including parts of Kingston and Port Royal.
- The slow‑moving, rapidly intensified storm has already been blamed for at least four deaths in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, with officials warning of widespread landslides, power outages and isolated communities.
- After crossing Jamaica, Melissa is forecast to reach southeastern Cuba as a major hurricane and then move across the southeastern Bahamas, with U.S. impacts not expected based on current guidance.