KINGSTON, Jamaica – Hurricane Melissa made its catastrophic landfall along the southwestern coast of Jamaica on Tuesday afternoon, lashing the Caribbean island nation with destructive winds, torrential rain and storm surge.
Life-threatening flooding and storm surge is ongoing in western Jamaica as millions of residents pray for safety while remaining sheltered in place.
According to the National Hurricane Center (NHC), landfall occurred at 1 p.m. ET near New Hope, Jamaica, as a Category 5 hurricane with winds of 185 mph. Since landfall, Melissa's winds have degraded, but it is still a dangerous Category 4 hurricane. The eye of the storm is expected to continue to pass over western Jamaica over the next several hours.
After landfall, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) warned people not to leave their shelters even if it seems calm outside as the eye passes over.
"Do not leave your shelter as the eye passes over, as winds will rapidly increase on the other side of the eye," the NHC said. "Residents should not leave their shelter and should remain in place through the passage of these life-threatening conditions."
Not far from landfall in Black River, extreme winds from Melissa are causing damage, peeling off roofs and sending debris flying. The NHC said catastrophic winds, flash flooding and storm surge were ongoing across parts of Jamaica.
For the second day in a row, a NOAAHurricane Hunter aircraft was forced to abort its mission from inside Hurricane Melissa due to extreme turbulence.
For days, Jamaica’s government has been warning its residents and visitors to make preparations ahead of the monster storm’s landfall, and people have been rushing to stock up on food and water to sustain them through what will likely be long-duration power and communication outages due to the storm's ferocious impacts.
Ahead of landfall, about 35% of Jamaica was without power.
Fears continue to mount that the Category 5 hurricane’s destructive 185-mph winds may be too strong for buildings to handle, and officials are warning that those winds will likely lead to "total structural failure" near the path of Melissa’s powerful core.
The storm was deadly even before landfall.
"I’m very sad to say that over the past few days in preparation of the storm, we’ve had three deaths," Jamaica’s Minister of Health and Wellness Dr. the Hon. Chrisopher Tufton, MP, said. "Three deaths linked to cutting down of trees. And in one instance, electrocution because of or due to the cutting down of a tree."
Injuries have also been reported, with Tufton saying most injuries were due to people falling from trees or rooftops, car crashes and one person who was walking through water and had "a nail penetrate their skin."
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Officials said there are more than 800 shelters open for residents, with 382 occupied. Officials said about 12,000 residents were in shelters across the island by Tuesday.
"Jamaica, this is not the time to be brave. I have been saying for a week, don’t bet against Melissa," said Minister of Local Government and Community Development Desmond Mckenzie.
Time quickly ran out for those who had still not made it into shelters on Tuesday morning, as conditions deteriorated rapidly across Jamaica.
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"Remain sheltered," the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said in its latest advisory. "Catastrophic flash flooding, landslides and destructive winds will continue through today, causing widespread infrastructure damage, power and communication outages and isolated communities."
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FOX Weather Correspondent Robert Ray has been on the ground in Jamaica since last week and got a firsthand look at what the government and residents were doing to prepare for Hurricane Melissa.
He spoke with Jamaica’s Minister of Labor and Social Security, Pearnel Charles, Jr., who said the country had been making every effort to save lives ahead of the storm’s worst impacts.
"We’ve asked persons to not wait until it gets too difficult to evacuate or save you," he said. "If there is ever a time to listen and to take action, this is now."
Ray and his team on the ground packed up and headed north later Monday and arrived in St. Ann Parish, where they will remain as Hurricane Melissa slices across Jamaica.
"We were speaking to locals (Monday night), and the feeling is of utmost anxiety and nerves," Ray said on Tuesday morning. "Everyone knows that this is imminent and there is going to be catastrophic scenarios across the island of Jamaica, and the preparations have been intense for the past 72 hours or even more."
And after the storm lets up, fears are growing that this could become a disaster Jamaica has never seen before.
"The government has been working diligently around the clock to open shelters and try to inform everyone here on the island nation of Jamaica exactly what lies ahead, which is historic and potentially a humanitarian crisis. And that humanitarian crisis will come from the lack of power, the lack of cell service, and the ability to not get provisions – water, food and aid."
As of the latest forecast information from the NHC, Hurricane Melissa is packing maximum sustained winds of 145 mph – making it a catastrophic Category 4 hurricane.
On Tuesday morning, 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.
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.
Melissa is the first landfall of a Category 5 hurricane since Hurricane Dorian struck the northwestern Bahamas on Sept. 1, 2019.
Hurricane Melissa is currently located about 10 miles to the south-southwest of Montego Bay, Jamaica, and is moving off to the north-northeast at 8 mph.
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.
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. A Hurricane Watch is in place for Bermuda.
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