Air Drive Movies Seize the Eye of Hurricane Melissa as Catastrophic Storm Hits Jamaica

Melissa, now a Class 5 hurricane, made landfall in Jamaica this afternoon because the strongest storm in the nation’s recorded history. At 1:00 p.m. ET, the storm was hammering the island with 185-mile-per-hour (295-kilometer-per-hour) winds and torrential rain as its eye moved over the southwestern coast, in keeping with the National Hurricane Center (NHC).

On Monday, the 53rd Climate Reconnaissance Squadron—a crew of U.S. Air Drive hurricane hunters—flew into this historic storm to gather knowledge for the NHC. The pilots captured astounding images and movies of Melissa’s eyewall—a towering ring of thunderstorms that swirls across the eye of a hurricane—earlier than extreme turbulence pressured them to show again.

The imagery speaks to the extraordinary energy of this hurricane. Melissa has already created a life-threatening scenario in Jamaica, triggering floods and storm surge and elevating the chance of landslides. The subsequent a number of hours shall be essential because the hurricane passes over the island, with forecasters predicting catastrophic injury.

As soon as the storm exits the Caribbean, it ought to observe up and alongside the East Coast, remaining far offshore. Forecasters don’t count on the hurricane to make landfall within the U.S.

A storm too highly effective for hurricane hunters

In accordance with an NHC assertion issued late Monday morning, the hurricane hunters “left the storm early after experiencing extreme turbulence within the southwestern eyewall.” A second try to fly contained in the storm Tuesday morning was additionally lower brief. As of 11 a.m. ET, the squadron was returning to its base in Curacao, in keeping with an X post.

A thread of movies from right now’s flight into Hurricane Melissa

On this first one we’re getting into from the southeast simply after dawn and the brilliant arc on the far northwest eye wall is the sunshine simply starting to make it excessive from behind us. pic.twitter.com/qGdpp7lbCN

— Tropical Cowboy of Hazard (@FlynonymousWX) October 27, 2025

Nonetheless, the crew managed to assemble essential knowledge on Melissa’s power and formation. The NHC issued a forecast assertion at 11 a.m. ET, with experiences from the plane indicating that the storm had intensified because the final advisory.

The stress inside its 15-mile-wide (24-kilometer-wide) eye had fallen to close 892 millibars, and the utmost sustained wind had reached 184 miles per hour (215 kilometers per hour). NHC forecasters count on Melissa’s winds to trigger “whole structural failure” close to the trail of its middle.

“Catastrophic flash flooding, landslides, and damaging winds are anticipated throughout the rest of the island inflicting widespread infrastructure injury, energy and communication outages, and remoted communities,” the assertion reads. “Alongside the southern coast, life-threatening storm surge and damaging waves are anticipated via the day.”

An unprecedented landfall

Melissa is the fourth storm of the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season to endure fast intensification—when a storm’s most sustained wind velocity will increase 35 mph (56 kph) in a 24-hour interval.

Third cross via Melissa. GoPro in aspect window as completely different digicam trying ahead taking pictures in extremely excessive res 8k. Unsure when which may get processed because the file turned out ridiculous. Barely had HD house for it and MacBook Professional promptly chocked once I tried to edit it pic.twitter.com/3p430gPvZv

— Tropical Cowboy of Hazard (@FlynonymousWX) October 27, 2025

Local weather change is growing the chance of this harmful phenomenon as ocean floor temperatures heat, offering extra warmth to gas hurricane formation and strengthening. Melissa encountered exceptionally heat waters and low wind shear within the central Caribbean Sea on Saturday, inflicting it to blow up from a tropical storm to a Class 4 hurricane by early Sunday.

The storm reached Class 5 standing early Monday morning and has been strengthening ever since. It’s now the fifth-strongest hurricane on report within the Atlantic Ocean. After it passes over Jamaica, forecasters count on it to make landfall in Cuba and the Lucayan Archipelago—a series of islands that features the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos—on Wednesday.

“Melissa ought to weaken over Jamaica because the inside core will get disrupted by the mountainous terrain,” the NHC states. “Nonetheless, the cyclone ought to keep main hurricane standing till the middle reaches jap Cuba.”

Resulting from anticipated energy outages and infrastructure injury, it is going to doubtless be a while earlier than officers can report the total scale of destruction and potential lack of life following the hurricane’s landfall in Jamaica. The NHC is at the moment advising residents to take cowl instantly.

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