Historic Hurricane Melissa Set to Hit Jamaica

The Caribbean island of Jamaica is bracing for one of the most catastrophic weather events in its history as Hurricane Melissa, a Category 5 hurricane, bears down with sustained winds of 175 mph and a central pressure around 901 millibars. The storm is expected to become the strongest storm to ever impact Jamaica and may inflict unprecedented damage.

With such intensity, Jamaica finds itself caught in what many forecasters describe as a “storm of the century” scenario. Indeed, the phenomenon of major storms striking Jamaica every 37 years appears to be playing out yet again — with Hurricane Charlie in 1951, Hurricane Gilbert in 1988 and now Hurricane Melissa in 2025 creating a chilling pattern.

Emergency officials have reported three confirmed deaths in Jamaica prior to landfall, as the outer bands of the storm have already caused serious flooding and infrastructure damage. The full force of Melissa is expected to sweep across the island starting this morning into tonight, carrying catastrophic winds, torrential rain and violent storm surges.

Forecasts show the centre of the storm will make landfall in southern Jamaica — near St. Elizabeth parish — then travel northeastwards across the island toward St. Ann parish. From there it is likely to continue on to eastern Cuba, the southern Bahamas and the Turks & Caicos. Tropical-storm and hurricane-force winds may persist for days, complicating immediate relief efforts and mounting the risk of long-term infrastructural collapse.

The scenario facing Jamaica includes sustained 175 mph winds with even stronger gusts, rainfall totals potentially exceeding two-metres in mountainous regions, and storm surge of up to four metres along the south coast. With soil already saturated and the terrain prone to landslides, the impact is expected to be devastating. The island’s power, transport and communications networks are all at acute risk of prolonged outage.

Beyond Jamaica, Bermuda is also on high alert as Melissa could impact the island as a low category hurricane later this week.

This is the strongest storm of the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season and one of the most powerful ever recorded in the region since systematic records began in the 1800s. The combination of its historic intensity and its very slow forward speed make this a uniquely dangerous event.