Slow-Moving Hurricane Melissa Strengthens to Category 5, Poised to Deliver Historic Blow to Jamaica

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) has confirmed that Hurricane Melissa has intensified into a Category 5 hurricane, prompting widespread emergency preparations across Jamaica, which now appears squarely in the storm’s path.

As of 5 a.m. on Monday, October 27, Melissa’s sustained winds had reached 160 mph (260 km/h) with a minimum central pressure of 917 millibars. The hurricane’s center was located near 16.4° N and 77.8° W, about 130 miles (205 km) south-southwest of Kingston and drifting west at 3 mph (6 km/h). Forecasters warned that the storm’s slow movement will prolong exposure to torrential rain, destructive winds, and life-threatening storm surge.

A Hurricane Warning is in effect for Jamaica and for Cuba’s eastern provinces of Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Guantánamo, and Holguín.

A Hurricane Watch covers the southeastern and central Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands, while a Tropical Storm Warning remains active for Haiti and Cuba’s Las Tunas province. The NHC stressed that preparations to protect life and property should already be completed, as hurricane conditions are expected within 36 hours.

Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter aircraft measured flight-level winds of 154 knots and confirmed a central pressure of 917 mb inside Melissa’s eye — signs of an extremely powerful storm. The hurricane’s eye is just 10 nautical miles wide and surrounded by cloud tops colder than –86 °C, evidence of deep convection and explosive intensification. Melissa is expected to gradually turn northwest and then north before accelerating northeastward across southeastern Cuba and the Bahamas by midweek.  READ MORE...https://viconsortium.com/vi-hurricane_season/virgin-islands-slow-moving-hurricane-melissa-strengthens-to-category-5--poised-to-deliver-historic-blow-to-jamaica