Hurricane Melissa: Jamaica In Crosshairs as Storm Strengthens in Caribbean Sea 

Jamaica was in the crosshairs of Hurricane Melissa as of Saturday evening, with a Hurricane Warning in effect from the National Hurricane Center. 

A hurricane warning means that hurricane conditions are expected in the warning area within 36 hours. 

As of Sunday morning, the storm was about 120 miles southeast of Kingston, with maximum sustained winds of 140 miles per hour, a significant strengthening even from Saturday night. The slow-moving storms was moving at just five miles an hour. 

The NHC said that “life threatening and catastrophic flash flooding and landslides were expected” in portions of both Hispaniola and Jamaica into early next week. 

A slightly less severe Hurricane Watch was in effect for the southwestern peninsula of Haiti and the Cuban provinces of Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Guantanamo, and Holguin.

The expectation is that Melissa will be a major hurricane when it makes landfall in Jamaica early next week. It could move across the southeastern Bahamas on Wednesday.

Jamaica’s Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston — on the south coast of the island and nearer to the storm — already closed at 9PM on Saturday night. 

Jamaica’s Sanster International Airport in Montego Bay was set to close on Sunday at 12pm as a precautionary measure. 

“We continue to pray that the storm weakens, but we are preparing for the worst while hoping for the best,” Jamaica Prime Minister Andrew Holness said in an address. “All Government agencies have been fully mobilized and are executing preemptive actions, including extensive drain and gully cleaning across the island.”