Satellite imagery from 01:40AM October 28, 2025 to 1:20AM October 29, 2025
Here’s how it compares with past giants, and how the damage unfolded in its path across the Caribbean
Hurricane Melissa slammed into Jamaica on October 28 as a catastrophic Category 5 storm, the strongest to ever make landfall on the island nation. The storm’s rapid intensification over unusually warm Caribbean waters highlights a trend scientists have long warned about, where climate change fuels more powerful and destructive weather events.
The devastation in Jamaica and neighboring islands is expected to renew calls from developing nations for financial aid from wealthier countries to cope with the escalating impacts of a warming planet.
Wind speeds were well above the minimum level for the strongest hurricane classification. Forecasters at AccuWeather said it tied in second place for strongest-ever Atlantic hurricane on record in terms of wind speed when it struck land.
Melissa’s wind speeds are one of the highest in the Caribbean basin
Melissa is the most powerful hurricane to make landfall on Jamaica since Gilbert in 1988.
A multi-line chart compares hurricane wind speeds in the Caribbean basin. The x-axis shows days since each storm first reached 100 mph; the y-axis shows wind speed from 100 to 180 mph. Each gray line represents a storm, while Melissa’s path is highlighted in red. Melissa peaks above 180 mph around day 4, matching Allen (1980) and surpassing Maria (2017) and Gilbert (1988), marking it among the strongest hurricanes to hit Jamaica.
No stranger to hurricanes, Jamaica had never before been known to take a direct hit from a Category 4 or 5 storm (Gilbert made landfall as a Category 3), and the government called for foreign aid even as it prepared for Melissa’s arrival.
“It’s a catastrophic situation,” the World Meteorological Organization’s tropical cyclone specialist Anne-Claire Fontan told a press briefing ahead of the storm making landfall. “For Jamaica, it will be the storm of the century for sure.”
Melissa’s size and strength ballooned as it churned over unusually warm Caribbean waters, and forecasters warned that its slow movement could prove particularly destructive.
Jamaica and Haiti experienced heavy torrential rain
The storm’s trajectory across multiple islands and slow movement meant that rain lingered over regions for extended periods.
A map of the Caribbean showing rainfall accumulation forecast. Dark blue areas indicate the highest rainfall, 500 mm and above, concentrated over eastern Jamaica and western Haiti, spreading south into the Caribbean Sea. Lighter blue shades, indicating lesser rainfall extend northward towards Cuba and beyond. A thin white line traces the storm’s path.
Authorities in Haiti, which was not directly hit but nevertheless suffered days of torrential rains from the slow-moving storm, reported at least 25 deaths, mostly in the southern town of Petit-Goave when a river burst its banks.
The banks of a river also caved in and carried off part of a national highway, local newspaper Le Nouvelliste reported. The road, which had been weakened by last year’s Hurricane Beryl, connected to the nearby city of Jacmel.
Melissa also hit eastern Cuba, where some 735,000 evacuated, but as of Thursday, no deaths were reported there, despite extensive damage to homes and crops.
Meteorologists at AccuWeather said Melissa ranked as the third most intense hurricane observed in the Caribbean after Wilma in 2005 and Gilbert in 1988 – the last major storm to make landfall in Jamaica.
Hurricanes are getting stronger, faster.
Scientists warn that storms are intensifying faster with greater frequency as a result of warming ocean waters. Rapid intensification is when hurricanes grow their wind speed over 35 mph in less than 24 hours, making it hard to predict the danger they may present.
Melissa rapidly intensified in less than 24 hours
This storm is now the fourth of this year’s five Atlantic hurricanes to undergo rapid intensification.
The image is a line chart illustrating hurricane intensification over time. The title reads “Melissa rapidly intensified in less than 24 hours,” with a subtitle noting it is the fourth of five Atlantic hurricanes to undergo rapid intensification this year. The x-axis shows hours since hurricane status (0 to 160), and the y-axis shows wind speed in mph with categories from Tropical Storm to Cat 5 (74 to 157 mph). Multiple gray lines represent hurricanes Erin, Humberto, Gabrielle, Imelda, and Melissa, with Melissa peaking highest. Red lines highlight rapid intensification phases, climbing steeply from Tropical Storm to Category 4 within about 24 hours.
Many Caribbean leaders have called on wealthy, heavy-polluting nations to provide reparations in the form of aid or debt relief to tropical island countries.
Damage in Jamaica
Melissa made landfall in southwestern Jamaica, near the parish border between Westmoreland and St. Elizabeth, one of the areas hardest-hit by Beryl.
St. Elizabeth was submerged by flooding, local government minister Desmond McKenzie told a press briefing. Its only public hospital lost power and reported severe damage to one of its buildings.
Prime Minister Andrew Holness visited the hospital, where aerial footage showed the wrecks of buildings, roofs blown off, power cables knocked down and fields strewn with rubble.
Add a description of the graphic for screen readers. This is invisible on the page.
In Montego Bay, a popular Jamaican tourist destination, a resident told Reuters the water reached her waist and rescuers had to break into her home to save her and her child.
“All the trees that my dad planted, all of them are gone,” she said.
Add a description of the graphic for screen readers. This is invisible on the page.
In Jamaica, AccuWeather estimated Melissa caused $22 billion in damage and economic loss. Rebuilding could take a decade or more.
The capital Kingston was spared the worst damage and its main airport was set to reopen Thursday, but as of Wednesday morning authorities said about 77% of Jamaica was without electricity.
Trees and buildings show damage in Black River, Jamaica, after Hurricane Melissa made landfall. REUTERS/Maria Alejandra Cardona
People sleep at a school-turned-shelter in Les Cayes, Haiti, while downpours from the outer bands of Hurricane Melissa hit the island after making landfall in Jamaica. REUTERS/Patrice Noel
Fulgencio Garcia bails water out of his home, in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa, in Santiago, Cuba. REUTERS/Norlys Perez
The Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre, a branch of regional bloc CARICOM, issued a statement in solidarity with those affected by Hurricane Melissa and called for stronger efforts to curb climate change.
It said Melissa’s rapid intensification, fueled by record-breaking Caribbean sea temperatures, underscored the need for the U.N.’s “loss and damage” fund to be scaled up.
The fund was established in 2023 as a mechanism for developing nations to quickly and reliably access financing to recover from more frequent extreme weather events. However, donations from wealthy, polluting nations have fallen short of targets and the U.S. withdrew from its board in March.
The devastation caused by Melissa drew an outpouring of support from across the world, with some countries pledging support in the form of cash, food aid and rescue teams.
Natural Earth; Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System (GDACS); National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
Rebecca Pazos, Lisa Shumaker
