Category 5 Hurricane Melissa Threatens Caribbean

Hurricane Melissa rapidly intensified into a Category 5 with 160 mph sustained winds and could strengthen further before an expected landfall in Jamaica Tuesday, with outer bands already affecting the island. The National Hurricane Center warns of catastrophic impacts including up to 40 inches of rain in places, storm surge of 9–13 feet, extensive infrastructure damage, catastrophic flash flooding and numerous landslides. Moving very slowly at about 3 mph, Melissa's prolonged battering has prompted mandatory evacuations and hundreds of emergency shelters and increases the risk of multi-day destruction as the storm is forecast to cross Cuba and the southeastern Bahamas afterward. The system has already killed at least three people in Haiti and one in the Dominican Republic. Meteorologists say Melissa's extreme rapid intensification and heavier rainfall are consistent with warmer ocean and atmospheric conditions linked to human-driven climate change, and it is the third Category 5 hurricane of the 2025 Atlantic season.