🔗 Share this article

Cyclone the storm is projected to become a uncommon highest-level hurricane as it turns towards Jamaica, bringing dangerous flash flooding and landslides.

The cyclone, which registered winds of up to 120 miles per hour as of 6:00 AM GMT, is currently turning north-west in the Caribbean Sea and is projected to hit the coast by Tuesday, as reported by hurricane specialists.

Warnings of electricity outages and disruption to utilities have been released as Melissa produces up to thirty inches of precipitation and sea level surges as high as thirteen feet above typical tides. "Seek shelter now," locals have been advised.

Melissa is the 13th hurricane in the ongoing Atlantic hurricane season, which typically ends in November.

Category Five Cyclone Danger

A Category 5 storm is the most powerful category, with sustained winds of at least 252 km/h.

Although the hurricane is expected to reduce in intensity to a fourth-level hurricane before making landfall on the island, experts said there was "almost no noticeable change in the total effects" upon reaching the coast, and that the storm will be "at least that intensity" when it strikes the island.

Urgent Preparations

With storm-force winds and rain already expected long before it crosses the island's interior - perhaps encompassing the city of Kingston - advisories emphasize that "preparations should be rushed to completion".

"A multi-day period of damaging winds and intense precipitation has started and will cause catastrophic and life-threatening rapid water accumulation and many rock slides," counseled climate experts.

The country's head of government the official stated: "I know that there are many Jamaicans who are concerned, who are extremely apprehensive, and with good reason: concern is justified.

"Yet the optimal approach to manage anxiety and any nervousness and anxiety is to stay ready."

Residents are being advised to protect their properties with sand barriers and wooden boards, and to gather essentials.

Wider Effects

Warnings are also ongoing for areas in Haiti such as the primary urban center, the neighboring country and Cuba's eastern region, where Melissa is expected to bring comparable impacts by the middle of next week.

Landslides presently generated by the hurricane have already killed two in the country, according to local authorities.

Future Trajectory

This weather system is forecast to cross the island nation by midweek before passing across the Caribbean archipelago and entering the Atlantic Ocean.

By the time it arrives at Cuba, it is predicted to have reduced to a Category 3 storm.

Climate Context

Even though it is difficult to connect specific storms to environmental shifts, researchers say it is causing climate patterns increasingly frequent and more extreme.

Warmer oceans generate greater water vapor in the environment, aiding in the creation of storms.

Before the beginning of this season's Caribbean cyclone season, meteorological authorities projected above-normal activity, citing elevated ocean temperatures and likely more intense weather patterns around the western African continent - where Atlantic storms often form.