He Hurricane Melissawhich Dr. José Rubiera did not hesitate to classify this sunday From “very dangerous”, it is already category 5, the maximum on the Saffir-Simpson scale that is used to measure the intensity of these meteorological phenomena.
After staying throughout yesterday As a powerful Category 4 hurricane, Melissa met forecasts that predicted further intensification before impacting Jamaica in the next few hours.
At 5:00 in the morning today it had maximum sustained winds of 260 km/h, with higher gusts, and a central pressure of only 917 hectoPascals, according to the reported data by the United States National Hurricane Center (NHC).
At that time its center was located 205 km south-southwest of Kingston, Jamaica, and 505 km south-southwest from Guantanamo. Its travel speed was still very low: barely 6 km/h.
For its part, the NHC expects Melissa to begin a slow turn toward the northwest and north today, and then accelerate its movement. Its center should hit Jamaica between tonight and early Tuesday, and then head towards eastern Cuba.
Although fluctuations in its intensity are forecast, it will continue to be a major hurricane as it passes through Cuba and continues towards the Bahamas.
10/27 5am EDT: #Melissa has strengthened to a Category 5 hurricane with 160 mph winds and a 917 mb central pressure, confirmed by the Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunters. Conditions in #Jamaica will rapidly deteriorate later today and tonight. Here are the key messages:
See… pic.twitter.com/pMRRQdyOqU
— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) October 27, 2025
About 12 hours in Cuba
Melissa is the third hurricane to reach Category 5 in the current hurricane season. The NHC estimates that its center should make landfall in Cuba tomorrow night and warns of the importance of speeding up preparations to protect lives and resources in both Jamaica and Cuba.
Its hurricane winds already extend up to 45 km from the center and those of a tropical storm reach much further from its eye: 315 km.
Even with the predicted acceleration in its movement, in Cuba the center of Melissa should take about 12 hours over land, from its entry along the south-eastern coast to its exit along the northern coast. If so, it would continue hitting the island throughout the early morning and part of Wednesday morning.
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