Hurricane Melissa Update: Jamaica Prepares for the Worst-Case Scenario

Jamaica braces for impact as a storm barrels towards it in October 2025. The island is expected to be hit by the record-breaking Category 5 Hurricane Melissa, which is slowly moving towards the country as it drags its way through the Caribbean Sea.

Almost all the experts agree that this storm will have catastrophic impacts on the country, which will be hit by strong winds, storm surges, and unprecedented amounts of rain. And, due to the location of the island, there is no route for escape.

Experts believe that Melissa will make landfall in Jamacia sometime on Oct. 28, 2025, producing devastating results in the country where not a lot of infrastructure is built to withstand extreme hurricanes and storms, let alone one of this magnitude.

While there are obviously still some unknowns about this storm, one thing is for sure: Jamaica will see a hurricane unlike anything it's seen in the past. Keep reading for the latest updates on the storm.

Those in the coastal areas of Jamaica began feeling the impact of Hurricane Melissa nearly a day before the storm was predicted to make landfall, according to CNN, which noted that Melissa was the strongest storm on Earth as of the time of the broadcast.

As of the latest forecast, the storm was expected to drop up to 40 inches of rain on the island, which could trigger deadly mudslides. Additionally, storm surges of up to 13 feet were expected, which could close off access to the country's airport.

Then, there's Melissa's projected wind, which is expected to click in at around 160 miles per hour. That's the sustained speed, which doesn't include higher than typical wind gusts which could reach upwards of 200 miles per hour.

The models all point to Melissa moving away from Jamaica sometime Tuesday night or early Wednesday morning. Then, the hurricane's path has it moving into Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, the Bahamas, and Turks and Caicos in the days that follow.

From there, the hurricane could be pulled east, taking it away from America's coastline. Of course, it may be too early to know exactly when and where the pivot will happen, especially as the superheated waters — a phenomenon that is caused by climate change and the overreliance on fossil fuels — Melissa is hovering over continue to impact her strength.

It looks like Newsweek says that much of Jamaica will feel the impacts of Hurricane Melissa as the storm rolls in. However, the eye is expected to make landfall in central Jamaica when the storm finally comes ashore.

NBC News says that evacuations continued Monday morning for those living in areas expected to feel the worst of the storm, which include Kingston, Clarendon, St. Catherine, and St. Andrew, among others.

As of the time of publication, Jamaicans across the country were being told to brace for the worst, highlighting just how bad they expect this storm to be.