Hurricane Melissa approaches Jamaica
Digest more
Category 5 Hurricane Melissa sped up early Tuesday making landfall in Jamaica around 1 p.m, tying the record for the strongest landfall in the Atlantic.
Article last updated: Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025, 5 p.m. ET
Rosemarie Forrest came to the United States from Jamaica 35 years ago. She’s spent the last 16 years in Detroit.
Compared with other hurricane models used by the NHC, the DeepMind model is “definitely toward the front of the pack if not at the front of the pack”, says Brian McNoldy, a hurricane researcher at the University of Miami. “It’s pretty impressive.”
Just days ago, Hannah Grubbs — who ignored warnings of the Category 5 hurricane and flew to Jamaica regardless — shared a video of herself ordering drinks at a bar and wrote, “pretending there’s not a category 5 hurricane hitting.
It also marks the first time in 20 years that three or more Category 5 hurricanes have developed over the Atlantic Basin in one season. The last time was in 2005, when Hurricanes Emily, Katrina, Rita, and Wilma all reached Category 5—breaking a record.
Footage from a U.S. Air Force weather reconnaissance flight that passed through Hurricane Melissa’s eye confirms you probably don’t want to be there. The U.S. Defense Department released the video after flying multiple passes through the Category 5 storm on Monday to collect weather data for the National Hurricane Center.