Hurricane Melissa hits Jamaica as Category 5 storm with 185 mph winds l Watch live
JAMAICA - Millions of people across Jamaica are hunkering down and praying for safety from Hurricane Melissa, which made landfall on Tuesday around 1 p.m. with winds of 185 mph.
UPDATE ON JAMAICA HURRICANE: TIMELINE l JAMAICA IMPACTS l US IMPACTS l WHAT'S NEXT
Hurricane Melissa latest with Liv Johnson, Audrey Puente
FOX 5 NY Meteorologists Liv Johnson and Audrey Puente talk the latest with Hurricane Melissa and its landfall in Jamaica.
Live coverage of Hurricane Melissa
***Watch the media player above for LIVE coverage from FOX Weather, as well as the YouTube player below for a live look at the satellite radar.
The hurricane has hit Jamaica as a catastrophic Category 5 storm, the strongest to lash the island since recordkeeping began 174 years ago, the Associated Press reported.
VIDEO: Inside the eye of Hurricane Melissa
Millions of people across Jamaica are hunkering down and praying for safety from Hurricane Melissa's expected landfall. FOX 5 NY's Jessica Formoso has the latest details.
According to FOX Weather, the Category 5 hurricane’s destructive winds may be too strong for buildings to handle, and officials are warning that those winds could lead to "total structural failure" near the path of Hurricane Melissa’s core.
Hurricane Melissa timeline: Where is the storm now?
Timeline:
As of the latest forecast information from the NHC, Hurricane Melissa is packing maximum sustained winds of 185 mph – making it a catastrophic Category 5 hurricane.
This graphic shows information on Hurricane Melissa. (FOX Weather)
Hurricane Melissa pressure now
The pressure within Hurricane Melissa was measured at 892 millibars – stronger than Hurricane Katrina's 902-millibar minimum central pressure before it made its catastrophic landfall along the U.S. Gulf Coast in the Southeast in August 2005.
This graphic shows details on Hurricane Melissa's landfall in Jamaica on Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025. (FOX Weather)
Hurricane Melissa now ties for the No. 3 spot on the all-time most intense hurricanes on record in the Atlantic basin. The storm that remains in the top spot is Hurricane Wilma in 2005, which had a pressure measuring 882 millibars.
This image shows the forecast rain totals from Hurricane Melissa. (FOX Weather)
Melissa will also be the first landfall of a Category 5 hurricane since Hurricane Dorian struck the northwestern Bahamas on Sept. 1, 2019.
How far is Hurricane Melissa from Jamaica?
Hurricane Melissa is currently located about 50 miles to the south-southeast of Negril, Jamaica, and is moving off to the north-northeast at 7 mph.
Where will Hurricane Melissa hit?
A turn to the northeast with an increase in forward speed is expected later Tuesday, followed by a faster northeastward motion on Wednesday and Thursday.
This graphic shows the forecast track for Hurricane Melissa. (FOX Weather)
On that forecast track, the NHC said the center of Melissa will likely move over Jamaica on Tuesday, across southeastern Cuba on Wednesday morning, and across the southeastern or central Bahamas later Wednesday.
Hurricane Warnings remain in effect for Jamaica, portions of eastern Cuba and the southeastern and central Bahamas.
Mandatory evacuations issued for Jamaica
Dig deeper:
The Jamaican government activated the nation’s emergency operations center last week and prepositioned generators, medical supplies and fuel ahead of the storm to be prepared to respond once conditions improve.
Hurricane Melissa latest: Update from Jamaica
Delano Seiveright is a member of the Jamaican Parliament. He joined Good Day New York via Zoom on Tuesday morning.
In addition, Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness announced on Sunday that he had issued mandatory evacuation orders for vulnerable areas of Kingston and surrounding areas.
The evacuation orders, including areas like Port Royal in Kingston, remain in effect as long as the Declaration of Threatened Area Order is in place.
Will Hurricane Melissa hit Florida?
Local perspective:
Despite what you might have seen on social media, Melissa will head out to sea and will not directly affect the East Coast of the U.S. Fall cold fronts will keep it away.
Will Hurricane Melissa hit the Bahamas?
What's next:
After Hurricane Melissa hits Jamaica, the storm is then expected to make a second landfall in southeastern Cuba. Forecasters are also warning of flash flooding and landslides, as well as a life-threatening storm surge and damaging winds.
The Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands were also being warned to brace for impact after Melissa emerged back over the Atlantic after ripping across Cuba.
Hurricane categories
The backstory:
With Hurricane Melissa's rapid intensification, the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season has produced three Category 5 hurricanes, which hasn't happened in a single season for 20 years.
A hurricane with maximum sustained winds of at least 157 mph is classified as a Category 5 cyclone on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Hurricane Melissa had sustained winds of 165 mph late Monday morning.
This is only the second time in modern history to have more than two Category 5 storms in one season. The last time it happened was in 2005, with four Category 5 hurricanes.