Melissa, an “Extremely Powerful Major Hurricane,” Expected Toward Western Jamaica

The slow-moving but “extremely powerful major hurricane” Hurricane Melissa was projected to move toward Western Jamaica by Tuesday, according to the National Hurricane Center. 

The projected path of the storm would take it across southeastern Cuba on Tuesday night, and then across the southeastern or central Bahamas on Wednesday. 

The storm began a northeasterly path on Tuesday evening, and was 55 miles southeast of Negril by Wednesday morning, moving northeastward at about 7 miles per hour.

Maximum sustained winds were as high as 175 miles per hour — a category 5 storm that was expected to bring “catastrophic and life-threatening winds, flooding and storm surge” to Jamaica.

While the NHC said “some fluctuations in intensity” were likely before it make landfall in Jamaica, it was still expected to reach both Jamaica and southeastern Cuba as an “extremely powerful major hurricane.” 

The storm slowed down even further on Monday, with a northwestern movement at just 2 miles per hour. 

A number of watches and warnings are now in effect: Hurricane Warnings for Jamaica, parts of Cuba and the southeastern and central Bahamas. 

A Hurricane Watch is in effect for the Turks and Caicos Islands; and a tropical storm warning is in effect for Haiti, Las Tunas in Cuba and the Turks and Caicos Islands. 

Haiti had initially been under a Hurricane Watch, but the westward motion of the storm has now led to a downgrade.