Hurricane Melissa struck southwest Jamaica near New Hope at 1:00 pm ET on Tuesday with stunningly powerful sustained winds of 185 mph.
At the National Hurricane Center update noting the exact time and location of landfall, specialist Larry Kelly described Melissa as an “extremely dangerous and life-threatening” hurricane. Melissa brings very heavy rain, damaging waves and damaging winds to the small Caribbean island home to about 3 million people.
The consequences for the island will likely be catastrophic and long-lasting.
A record hurricane by any standards
Either way, Melissa is an extraordinary and catastrophic storm.
Intensifying overnight and then maintaining an incredible speed of 185 mph, Melissa tied the 1935 Labor Day hurricane as the most powerful hurricane to make landfall in the Atlantic Basin, which includes the United States, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean islands.
Melissa also named the Labor Day storm that hit the Florida Keys as the strongest onshore storm, measured by a central pressure of 892 millibars.
Overall, Melissa is the second strongest hurricane measured by winds ever observed in the Atlantic Basin, behind Hurricane Allen with its 190 mph winds in 1980. Only hurricanes Wilma (882 millibars) and Gilbert (888 millibars) recorded lower sea pressure.
