Hurricane Melissa, now a catastrophic Category 5 storm, is churning toward Jamaica with potentially devastating impacts expected across the Caribbean, the National Hurricane Center said Monday.
Hurricane Melissa currently has maximum sustained winds of 160 mph, making it an extremely dangerous storm.
The hurricane is located about 135 miles southwest of Kingston, Jamaica, moving slowly westward at 3 mph.
“Some additional strengthening is possible during the next 12 to 24 hours while Melissa is south of Jamaica,” the hurricane center said.
The National Hurricane Center warns that Melissa will bring life-threatening conditions to Jamaica and Cuba, with destructive winds, catastrophic flooding, and storm surge expected.
“Melissa is expected to bring rainfall of 15 to 30 inches to portions of Jamaica and additional rainfall of 8 to 16 inches for southern Hispaniola through Wednesday” the hurricane center said noting that some local totals could hit 40 inches of rain. “Catastrophic flash flooding and numerous landslides are likely.”
The hurricane is forecast to make landfall in Jamaica on Tuesday morning and move across southeastern Cuba Tuesday night.
“Tropical storm conditions are occurring in Jamaica, and destructive hurricane conditions are expected to begin tonight or early Tuesday,” the hurricane center said.
While no direct U.S. landfall is currently predicted, the hurricane could potentially impact Bermuda by Thursday night, the hurricane center said.
The storm is expected to accelerate northeastward and transition to an extratropical system by Friday.
Key threats include:
- Storm surge up to 13 feet along Jamaica’s southern coast
- Rainfall of 15 to 30 inches in Jamaica
- Potential for numerous landslides
- Hurricane-force winds extending up to 30 miles from the storm’s center
The National Hurricane Center advises residents in potentially affected areas to complete hurricane preparations immediately and follow local emergency guidance.
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