Category 5 Hurricane Melissa Expected to Make Landfall in Jamaica Today

Hurricane Melissa is inching towards Jamaica, with landfall expected today, bringing incredibly strong winds and intense rain to the island country.

Melissa, now a Category 5 hurricane, is packing winds of over 175 mph, making it the strongest tropical system of the year. This also makes it the most powerful hurricane to hit Jamaica since Hurricane Gilbert in 1988. Widespread rain totals are projected to be around 15-30 inches, and some areas of the island could receive up to 40 inches of rain, sparking landslides across its mountainous terrain.

At least three people have already been confirmed dead due to the storm, but the death toll is expected to rise over the next few days as Melissa moves past the island. Extensive destruction is sure to occur, especially in poorer areas of Jamaica with weaker infrastructure. However, Jamaican officials are doing their best to minimize deaths, with citizens already heading to storm shelters as landfall looms in the distance.

The United Nations is also already preparing aid for Jamaica– they are ready to send food, water, shelter, cleaning kits, and more as soon as the storm has moved past. The UN Central Emergency Response Fund has already approved the release of $4 million in anticipation of the aid needs of Jamaica, Haiti, and Cuba, and members of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs are already planning trips to the islands later this week.

The storm originally formed around a week ago in the Caribbean Sea, moving lazily until intensifying. Due to wind patterns, Melissa reversed course and turned back several times as the storm had slowed to a crawl. From there, the storm inched northwest, zigzagging across the Caribbean as it approached Jamaica and Hispaniola. After brushing Haiti and the Dominican Republic, Melissa underwent a process that meteorologists call "rapid intensification." This occurs when a hurricane's wind speed increases at least 35 mph in a 24-hour window.

Melissa had been a tropical storm when passing Hispaniola, but it had become a Category 4 hurricane by the next day– almost doubling its wind speed. In fact, statistics show that Melissa is the fourth-fastest hurricane to ever reach Category 4 status from Category 1, intensifying in a mere 18 hours. It later strengthened to become the Category 5 that is already wreaking havoc on Jamaica.

Yesterday, NOAA's storm chasers flew straight into the hurricane to take measurements, as usual, but they were amazed when they encountered the eye of the storm. The incredible video showed a perfect eyewall around the peaceful center as it moved across the ocean. Satellite footage of Melissa has also displayed its extremely organized formation, with a perfectly circular eye and hundreds of miles of rain bands around it.

After passing Jamaica, Melissa is expected to weaken slightly before hitting eastern Cuba as a Category 4 hurricane. However, its large storm bands will extend across the Greater Antilles, bringing strong winds and heavy rain to other island nations like the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos before it emerges into the Atlantic.

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Image credit to NOAA