Hurricane Melissa Live Updates: Category 5 Landfall Imminent As Jamaica Takes Cover

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We’re just hours away from a historic landfall, as Hurricane Melissa closes in on Jamaica at Category 5 intensity. Below, you can find all of the latest news and expert analysis on this storm; please be sure to refresh this page frequently for the latest updates.

(MORE: Full Melissa Forecast | Maps Tracker)

(10:18 a.m. EDT) ‘LAST CHANCE TO PROTECT YOUR LIFE’

The National Hurricane Center is issuing final pleas to Jamaican residents and visitors, with Melissa’s landfall likely just a few hours away:

“CATASTROPHIC WINDS MOVING ONSHORE SOUTHERN JAMAICA … LAST CHANCE TO PROTECT YOUR LIFE”

“Failure to adequately shelter may result in serious injury, and loss of life. Residents in Jamaica that experience the eye should not leave their shelter as winds will rapidly increase within the backside of the eyewall of Melissa.

To protect yourself from wind, the best thing you can do is put as many walls as possible between you and the outside. An interior room without windows, ideally one where you can also avoid falling trees, is the safest place you can be in a building. You can cover yourself with a mattress and wear a helmet for added protection.”

(10:00 a.m. EDT) Melissa Now Stronger Than Milton (2024)

At 10 a.m. EDT, Hurricane Melissa has gotten even stronger. The National Hurricane Center says the minimum central pressure is 892 mb, and maximum sustained winds are 185 mph. It’s just 45 miles south-southeast of Negril now.

This ties Melissa with the 1935 Labor Day Hurricane for the third-most-intense Atlantic Basin hurricane on record. Only Wilma (882 mb) and Gilbert (888 mb) were stronger.

(09:50 a.m. EDT) Information Blackout Likely Nearest To Landfall

Having covered a few of these catastrophic hurricane landfalls, here’s what’s about to happen. In the hours — and possibly days — after landfall, we are very unlikely to get detailed information or visuals out of southwestern Jamaica or in the mountains, which are expected to get the worst of Melissa. This is directly due to the widespread, massive damage that will be left behind, and the need to respond to humans in dire need first and foremost.

We will obviously provide any information we receive in the aftermath of what we now know will be a horrific landfall that will forever alter this beautiful island nation.

(09:36 a.m. EDT) ‘This Is Not A Joke’

From writer Renee Straker:

Even hurricane-tested Jamaicans have taken the threat of Melissa seriously. Heeding stern warnings, this video shows you how many people prepared for what’s expected to be a devastating landfall.

However, government officials were worried late Monday. They said not enough people had evacuated low-lying coastal areas. Desmond McKenzie, Jamaica’s minister for local government, said 133 of the island’s 880 shelters were being used.

(09:00 a.m. EDT) Melissa Now 6th-Strongest Atlantic Hurricane On Record

From meteorologist Tiffany Savona:

Hurricane Hunters find that Hurricane Melissa continues to strengthen. The pressure has fallen to 896 mb and the maximum sustained winds have increased to 180 mph. NHC says the northern eyewall is approaching the southern coast of Jamaica; we’ll likely see a landfall in a few hours.

(08:57 a.m. EDT) Jamaican Official: 1,000 People In Shelters As Melissa Approaches

From senior writer Chris DeWeese:

As Renee mentioned, government officials in Jamaica have been expressing concern about the number of people who have decided to make use of the shelters that have been opened across the island. A key Jamaican government official told the BBC that around 1,000 people are in shelters in Jamaica as Hurricane Melissa approaches the island.

Abka Fitz-Henley, State Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister, also told BBC Newsday that the government expects “significant infrastructure damage” from this storm.

(08:35 a.m. EDT) NHC Uses Sobering Language To Describe Melissa’s Dire Threat

From meteorologist Jennifer Gray:

The NHC warned this morning:

“Remain sheltered! Catastrophic flooding, landslides, and destructive winds will continue through today, causing widespread infrastructure damage, power and communication outages, and isolated communities. Total structure failure is possible near the path of Melissa’s center. Along the southern coast, life-threatening storm surge and damaging waves are expected through the day. Failure to act may result in serious injury or loss of life.”

(08:08 a.m. EDT) The Eyewall Is Closing In

From senior meteorologist Jonathan Erdman:

With hurricane-force winds extending up to 30 miles from the center, that means its eyewall with the most intense winds is quickly closing in on western Jamaica.

If this were a U.S. hurricane, the National Weather Service would issue an “extreme wind warning” for western Jamaica.

The NWS issues these “extreme wind warnings” in the U.S. for the arrival of a Category 3-plus eyewall (115-plus-mph winds) within one hour. It was last issued in the U.S. for Hurricane Milton’s landfall in central Florida last October.

(08:00 a.m. EDT) The 8 AM EDT Advisory Is In …

And there’s been no change. 175 mph maximum sustained winds, minimum central pressure of 901 mb. If it makes landfall at that pressure, it would be the fourth-most-intense landfall on record for the Atlantic Basin, ranking only behind Camille (1969, Mississippi), Gilbert (1988, Mexico) and the 1935 Labor Day Hurricane (Florida Keys).

Melissa is now just 55 miles south-southeast of Negril. It’s safe to say landfall is imminent.

(07:40 a.m. EDT) A Historic First For Jamaica

From senior meteorologist Jonathan Erdman:

The National Hurricane Center is forecasting Melissa to make landfall in Jamaica at Category 5 intensity. That would be a historical first for Jamaica, according to NOAA’s database.

Only two other Cat 5 hurricanes have passed within 70 miles of Jamaica, and neither made landfall.

Ivan in 2004 claimed 17 lives, left 18,000 left homeless and triggered mudslides/flooding on the island. Allen in 1980 slammed northern Jamaica, with eight killed, and 4,000 to 5,000 were left homeless.

(07:18 a.m. EDT) Winds Could Be 30% Stronger In Higher Elevations

From meteorologist Jennifer Gray:

Tropical storm conditions are already occurring in Jamaica, and catastrophic hurricane-force winds are expected to begin this morning, lasting for much of the day, because of Melissa’s slow crawl over the island.

The National Hurricane Center warns, “Within the eyewall, total structural failure is likely, especially in higher elevation areas where wind speeds atop and on the windward sides of hills and mountains could be up to 30 percent stronger.”

(06:58 a.m. EDT) A ‘Frightening Situation’ For Jamaica

From senior writer Chris DeWeese:

“This is a frightening situation for Jamaica,” Matthew Samuda, the country’s Minister of Water, Environment and Climate Change, said during an interview with the BBC World Service’s Newsday program. According to Samuda, 70% of Jamaica’s population lives within 3.1 miles of the sea.

“We hope we have done enough in terms of preparation,” he added, saying that officials have spent the past week telling residents about shelters around the island. However, amid preparation for the hurricane, Samuda also mentioned that officials have had a hard time convincing residents to go to the shelters, as they seem to feel, in his words, that they must “protect their property as opposed to preserving their lives first.”

(06:31 a.m. EDT) How Rare Are Category 5 Landfalls?

From senior meteorologist Jonathan Erdman:

Category 5 landfalls in the Atlantic Basin are rare (thankfully), but perhaps not as rare as you might think.

Seventeen different hurricanes over the last 101 years have made at least one Cat 5 landfall. 2017’s Hurricane Irma made four separate Cat 5 landfalls from Barbuda to far northern Cuba.

The last time this happened was just over six years ago, when Hurricane Dorian crawled through the northwest Bahamas.

The most intense Atlantic Basin Cat 5 landfalls:

• By lowest pressure: the Labor Day 1935 Florida Keys hurricane (892 millibars)

• By max sustained winds: Dorian 2019 and the Labor Day 1935 hurricane (185 mph)

(06:08 a.m. EDT) Jamaica Will Be Forever Changed

From meteorologist Tiffany Savona:

Extremely strong wording from The Weather Channel storm tracker Jim Cantore:

“What matters is Jamaica and the nearly 3 million people on this island. Black River, Parottee, Great Bay, Montego Bay and Trelawny are just a few places that will be forever changed in the next 18 hours.”

(05:45 a.m. EDT) Melissa’s Death Toll Is Already 7

From writer Renee Straker:

As Melissa’s outer bands impacted Jamaica, three people died there, adding to the four deaths blamed on the storm in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Another person remains missing in the Dominican Republic.

With Melissa’s life-threatening storm surge and winds, Jamaican government officials were concerned that only about 1,000 people were in shelters open across the island on Monday.

(05:24 a.m. EDT) Unprecedented In 174 Years

According to the Associated Press, hurricane records go back 174 years in Jamaica, and Melissa is on track to be the strongest hurricane to make landfall in the island nation in nearly two centuries. All possible preparations have been completed, and now, the nation hunkers down for what could be one of its longest days ever.

“There is no infrastructure in the region that can withstand a Category 5,” Prime Minister Andrew Holness told the media. “The question now is the speed of recovery. That’s the challenge.”

(05:00 a.m. EDT) Stronger Than Katrina

As of the 5 a.m. EDT update, Hurricane Melissa has a minimum central pressure of 901 mb. That’s stronger than Katrina at its most intense, which bottomed out at 902 mb in 2005. Wilma holds the Atlantic record for lowest minimum central pressure at 882 mb; we don’t expect Melissa to threaten that record.

Melissa’s now just 115 miles west-southwest of Kingston, Jamaica, and has maximum sustained winds of 175 mph. It’s expected to remain a Category 5 hurricane at landfall later today.