ORLANDO, Fla. – Hurricane Melissa continued to strengthen Tuesday morning, becoming one of the strongest hurricanes on record in the Atlantic Basin as it made landfall.
The latest data from the National Hurricane Center, with information from Hurricane Hunters, found even stronger winds and lower pressure on the backside of Melissa’s eyewall.
Newest stats has sustained winds of 185 mph with minimum central pressure of 892 mb. The lower the pressure means the stronger the storm.
This places Melissa as the third strongest hurricane ever on record in the Atlantic Basin.
Also in their update, they write that this is the “last chance to protect your life” on the island of Jamaica.
The eye of Hurricane Melissa is nearing the southern coast of Jamaica and is expected to make landfall soon.
This is an extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation as winds and conditions will rapidly worsen when the eyewall moves over the island.
Conditions Rapidly Deteriorating Across Jamaica
Conditions across Jamaica have worsened dramatically.
Tropical storm- and hurricane-force winds, along with torrential rainfall, are already battering the island. Through the day, catastrophic flash flooding, landslides and widespread structural damage is expected as the storm makes official landfall along the south coast of the island.
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Another landfall is expected over eastern Cuba through Wednesday as it maintains major hurricane status.
Melissa is forecast to grow in size later this week as upper-level winds increase and the storm accelerates northeast into the Atlantic as it nears Bermuda late Thursday or early Friday.
By the weekend, Melissa is expected to move into the open North Atlantic and transition into a powerful extratropical system, though rough seas and high surf will continue to affect much of the western Atlantic basin.
Hurricane season runs through November.