Tropical Storm Melissa Is Set to Become a Ferocious Hurricane, Meteorologists Issue Warning to Florida

The satellites have detected that Melissa, a trendy tropical storm, is crawling on the sultry waters of the Caribbean Sea. Its movements make forecasters predict that it will soon gain a ferocious momentum and explode into a rapacious hurricane, discharging cascades of howling winds and torrents of pouring rain. Satellite data together with the Tail Doppler data from NOAA’s aircraft have revealed that Melissa gained intensity between Wednesday, October 22, and Thursday, ultimately unleashing devastation centered around 335 miles to the south-southwest of Port-au-Prince in Haiti.

The data registered in the initial days of this week indicated a significant eastward tilt in Melissa’s vortex. However, its sluggish movement was just a disguise. Hiding underneath was an upcoming northeastward curl, which has now flipped to a full-blown westward curl. As Melissa refuses to turn its direction and withdraw, residents, especially fisherfolk, sailors, boaters, and coast guards, are feeling highly vulnerable, after anticipating the possibilities Melissa could unloose upon their town, their jobs, and their very survival.

A footage by @CVM_Television shows a captain in Port Royal scrambling towards his boat, hauling along his luggage. Thoughts of Melissa were hovering at the back of his mind, and more than that, he thought about the two names painted on his boat: Ajani and Zariel, his children. His mission for the day was to glean all that he could from the treacherous sea before heading back home. With two of his crewmates, he steered his boat into the waters, barrelling towards the direction of Melissa, frightened yet faithful that they would be able to do the job in little time and return to safety.

Meanwhile, ladies on the eastern and southeastern coasts of the island are clutching onto their bags, pearls, cosmetics, sandbags, and cookbooks. Many of them are planning to flee to the shelter of the mangroves if Melissa dares to threaten their lives. Others are wondering if they can escape the town altogether and rush to the city, where the absence of coastal waters will help them survive Melissa’s upcoming wrath.

On Wednesday evening, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) announced, “Unfortunately, it is becoming increasingly likely that Melissa will become a large and dangerous hurricane.” On X, they added that Melissa is forecasted to meander over the central Caribbean Sea and could “potentially become a major hurricane by late this weekend or early next week.” Interests in Jamaica, Haiti, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic are urged to continue monitoring the latest forecasts, they wrote. In these regions, the transition of Melissa’s slow motion into high speed could trigger a deluge of heavy rains and flash flooding.

Currently, Melissa is hovering above the south of Haiti, slowly intensifying its winds. In the next three days, it will unleash a barrage of downpour on Florida, meteorologists have warned. While there’s still a “significant uncertainty” in Melissa’s pathway, as NHC told Newsweek, its westward movement and propelling momentum are clues that this year, the Atlantic hurricane season won’t end quietly. Tagged as the 13th named storm of this season, Melissa is headed towards becoming a violent tempest, which means the residents of the Caribbean have no choice but to kneel in prayer or pack up their bags and elope to somewhere where Melissa won’t be able to touch the skies.

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