🔴Hurricane Melissa makes landfall in Jamaica with catastrophic flooding expected │#MelissaHurricane

Hurricane Melissa Approaches Rare Category 5 — Four Things To Know. Hurricane Melissa, as expected, explosively intensified overnight and is now a dangerous Category 4 storm as of Sunday morning. It is expected to become an even stronger Category 5 storm and make a direct landfall in Jamaica and eventually Cuba too. Here are four things you need to know about Hurricane Melissa right now. It Is Expected To Get Stronger. Hurricane Melissa is undergoing extreme rapid intensification at the time of writing. Early Sunday morning, the National Hurricane Center wrote, “Its intensity has increased by 50 kt over the past 24 hours and 35 kt over the past 12 hours.” 50 kt is equivalent to 57.5 mph. As a reference point, we define rapid intensification as gaining 35 mph of maximum wind speed in less than 24 hours. Melissa gained 40 mph of maximum wind speed in half of that time. NHC predicts continued intensification, and Melissa could become a rare Category 5 storm by Sunday night or Monday morning. University of South Alabama weather expert Jordan McLeod wrote on Facebook, “Exactly what I feared. Hurricane Melissa has rapidly intensified into a Category 4 hurricane ahead of schedule. In my opinion, it’s not a matter of whether Melissa reaches Category 5 status today. That appears to be almost a certainty at this point. Regardless, the extreme impacts to Jamaica remain the same.” Current Residents Have No Experience With A Direct Hit From A Category 4 or 5 Hurricane. There could be intensity fluctuations, but it is very likely that Hurricane Melissa will make landfall in Jamaica as a Category 4 or 5 hurricane on Tuesday. The storm is already very close to the island. It will linger for a couple of days before making an abrupt turn towards Jamaica. Hurricane Beryl (2024) passed relatively quickly last year. My fear is that “recency bias” will cause people to anchor in that experience, and that would be a dangerous mistake. The dwell time of Melissa is part of this unfolding disaster story. Geographer Cary Mock is an expert on hurricane climatology at the University of South Carolina. He wrote on social media, “No Category 5 hurricanes for Jamaica that I know of, but a very slow-moving hurricane with a bunch of rain, hit Jamaica in October 1815.” Mock uses old newspaper articles, ship logs, and other resources in his historical research. Hurricane Gilbert was a devastating storm in 1988 that caused $700 million in damage and killed nearly 50 people but like Beryl, it moved out. It was a Category 3 storm when it struck Jamaica though intensified more aftwards. According to UPI, the island has never recorded a direct landfall by a Category 4 or 5 storms, and that’s surprising. Rainfall Will Be Measured In Feet For Some Areas. Melissa will lash Jamaica from Sunday to Tuesday evening. The storm will likely make a second landfall in eastern Cuba. That region along with western Haiti, the Dominican Republic and eventually the Bahamas will also experience extreme impacts. Because of the slow forward speed, rainfall amounts will be measured in feet for many places. Parts of Jamaica, Cuba, Haiti and the Dominican Republic will experience nearly 2 feet of rainfall. Candidly, 3 feet or more of rainfall are possible in some regions, particularly mountainous terrain. Flooding, landslides, and mudslides are likely. Timing For Impacts And Expected Scope. NHC wrote a dire message Sunday morning to the people of Jamaica, "Seek shelter now. Damaging winds and heavy rainfall today and on Monday will cause catastrophic and life-threatening flash flooding and numerous landslides before the strongest winds arrive Monday night and Tuesday morning." They noted that catastrophic infrastructure damage, communication outages, long-duration power, and community isolation are expected. Deadly storm surges will be present along the southern coast too. In southwestern Haiti and the Dominican Republic, life-threatening flash flooding and. landslides will also lead to isolation and infrastructure damage, according to NHC. Eastern Cuba, Turks and Caicos, and the southern Bahamas will need to monitor Melissa. It will likely be a hurricane after it crosses Jamaica. Hanover, Lucea, Saint Elizabeth, Black River, Saint James, Montego Bay, Trelawny, Falmouth, Westmoreland, Savanna-la-Mar, Clarendon, May Pen, Manchester, Mandeville, Saint Ann, Saint Ann's Bay, Saint Catherine, Spanish Town, Saint Mary, Port Maria, Kingston, Portland, Port Antonio, Saint Andrew, Half Way Tree, Saint Thomas, Morant Bay. #Hanover, #Lucea, #SaintElizabeth, #BlackRiver, #SaintJames, #MontegoBay, #Trelawny, #Falmouth, #Westmoreland, #SavannaLaMar, #Clarendon, #MayPen, #Manchester, #Mandeville, #SaintAnn, #SaintAnnsBay, #SaintCatherine, #SpanishTown, #SaintMary, #PortMaria, #Kingston, #KingstonCity, #Portland, #PortAntonio, #SaintAndrew, #HalfWayTree, #SaintThomas, #MorantBay