Category 5 Hurricane Melissa on final approach to Jamaica with life-threatening, catastrophic impacts

Hurricane Melissa begins to turn slightly to the northeast

FOX Weather Meteorologist Ari Sarsalari provides the latest on Hurricane Melissa. The storm now has maximum sustained winds of 175 mph with some higher gusts, and some fluctuations in strength are likely as the storm slams Jamaica with a deadly storm surge, life-threatening and catastrophic flash flooding, landslides, and destructive winds.

KINGSTON, Jamaica – Hurricane Melissa continues to maintain its strength as a monster Category 5 hurricane in the final hours before an expected catastrophic landfall in Jamaica on Tuesday.

On Monday evening, The Ministry of Health & Wellness in Jamaica reported three storm-related fatalities in preparation for Hurricane Melissa.

"We urge the public to exercise extreme caution: activities such as climbing roofs, securing sandbags, or cutting trees may seem manageable, but even minor mistakes during hurricane conditions can result in serious injury or death. Driving through flooded roads or areas with debris is also extremely hazardous," The Ministry of Health & Wellness in Jamaica shared. "Health centres remain closed, but hospitals are open and attending to storm-related injuries. Please be wise, stay safe, and protect yourself and your family during this storm." 

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Three confirmed dead in Jamaica from Hurricane Melissa

Three people have been confirmed dead in Jamaica as Hurricane Melissa continues its destructive path. The overall death toll has risen to seven, following earlier reports from Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Hurricane Melissa is currently the strongest storm of year with winds near 175 mph.

Catastrophic, life-threatening flash flooding and numerous landslides are forecast through Tuesday. Tropical storm-force winds and conditions have already been impacting parts of the island.

Daryl Vaz, Jamaica's Minister of Energy, Telecommunication and Transport, said crews are already responding to safety issues and power outages from Melissa on the eastern side of the island. Crews were also working to clear fallen trees blocking roads. 

As of the latest information provided by the National Hurricane Center (NHC), Hurricane Melissa now has maximum sustained winds of 175 mph with some higher gusts, and some fluctuations in strength are likely as the storm slams Jamaica with a deadly storm surge, life-threatening and catastrophic flash flooding and landslides, and destructive winds.

Island communities to the north are bracing for Melissa. A Hurricane Warning was recently issued for southeast and central Bahamas.

This comes after Hurricane Melissa underwent "extreme rapid intensification" over the weekend as millions of people rushed to prepare for the destructive storm’s impacts and seek shelter inside sturdy buildings as conditions began to deteriorate. 

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The 2025 Atlantic hurricane season now stands as the season with the second-most Category 5 hurricanes to form, with three. This season sits behind the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season, which had four.

"(Hurricane Melissa is) the third Category 5 storm of this season," FOX Weather Hurricane Specialist Bryan Norcross said. "The second time in the record book that we've had three Category 5 storms in one season. And the last time was 2005. And remember how many storms. We set a record in 2005 with 28 named storms. Three of them ended up Category 5."

HURRICANE MELISSA IS THE THIRD CATEGORY 5 HURRICANE THIS SEASON, A FIRST IN 20 YEARS

Melissa claimed at least three lives in the Dominican Republic last week as the storm stalled in the Caribbean, lashing Hispaniola with several inches of rain.

Haiti’s Civil Protection Agency confirmed a landslide in Fontamara, a commune of Port-au-Prince, left two people dead on Thursday, and a falling tree killed a man in his 70s in Marigot during flooding on Wednesday.

Now with Hurricane Melissa setting its sights on Jamaica, forecasters are presenting a potentially worst-case scenario of the storm as it slowly creeps toward the southern coast of the island at a near-snail’s pace, and the warnings have become more dire.

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A man watches the waves crash into the walls at the Kingston Waterfront on October 27, 2025. Hurricane Melissa threatened Jamaica with potentially deadly rains after rapidly intensifying into a top-level Category 5 storm, as residents scrambled for shelter from what could be the island's most violent weather on record. Melissa has already been blamed for at least four deaths in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, and was set to unleash torrential rains on parts of Jamaica in a direct hit on the Caribbean island. (Photo by Ricardo Makyn / AFP) (Photo by RICARDO MAKYN/AFP via Getty Images)

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"Do not venture out of your safe shelter," the NHC pleaded in its latest forecast advisory. "Catastrophic and life-threatening flash flooding and numerous landslides are likely (Monday) through Tuesday."

But it’s not only the flooding rain that is concerning to forecasters.

A life-threatening storm surge and damaging waves are also expected at beaches along the southern coast through Tuesday.

"The only little bit of good news that we're getting out of this thing is that Jamaica's capital, Kingston, looks like it will not get the worst," Norcross said. "It's still going to have a significant effect, and we still have all the rain and everything, but probably not the worst."

JAMAICA HAS DESTRUCTIVE HISTORY OF HURRICANES – BUT MELISSA COULD BE AMONG THE WORST, FORECASTERS WARN

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Haiti and the Dominican Republic are also expected to see potentially destructive impacts from Hurricane Melissa, with flash flooding and landslides expected there through midweek.

After tearing across Jamaica, Hurricane Melissa is then expected to make a second landfall in southeastern Cuba. Forecasters are also warning of flash flooding and landslides, as well as a life-threatening storm surge and damaging winds.

The Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands are also being warned to brace for impact after Melissa emerges back over the Atlantic after ripping across Cuba.

Alerts in the Caribbean have also expanded with the latest advisory from the NHC. While the entire island of Jamaica remains under a Hurricane Warning, those alerts expanded to the Cuban provinces of Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Guantanmo and Holguin.

A Hurricane Warning has now also been issued for the southeastern and central Bahamas, and a Tropical Storm Warning for the Turks and Caicos Islands. A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for Haiti and the Cuban province of Las Tunas.

BRYAN NORCROSS: RAPIDLY INTENSIFYING HURRICANE MELISSA'S MULTIDAY ASSAULT ON JAMAICA BEGINS

Evacuations ordered for parts of Jamaica as millions brace for impact

Category 5 Hurricane Melissa churns closer to Jamaica

FOX Weather Correspondent Robert Ray is on the move in Jamaica, as the now Category 5 Hurricane Melissa is expected to move over the country tonight and early Tuesday. 

The Jamaican government activated the nation’s emergency operations center at the end of last week and prepositioned generators, medical supplies and fuel ahead of the storm to be prepared to respond once conditions improve.

In addition, Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness announced Sunday that he had issued mandatory evacuation orders for vulnerable areas of Kingston and surrounding areas.

Those evacuation orders, which include areas like Port Royal in Kingston, will remain in effect as long as the Declaration of Threatened Area Order is in place.

Airports in Jamaica, including Sangster International Airport and Norman Manley International Airport, have been ordered closed until Hurricane Melissa passes, and the Port Authority of Jamaica said all seaports have also been shut down.

Kingston Harbor opens to the south, and the airport is on a peninsula in the harbor.

"The bigger threat than the airport might be the ports, because if you're really going to bring in a lot of material, you eventually need your ports to work," Norcross said. "And, you know, the ports are obviously vulnerable to there in these harbors and bays."

FOX Weather Correspondent Robert Ray was in Kingston as the island prepares for the storm and spoke to an official on Sunday morning about the impending disaster.

Jamaica's Minister of Labor and Social Security Pearnel Charles Jr. said the country is making every effort to "save lives" ahead of Hurricane Melissa’s worst impacts.

Watch: Jamaica prepares for Hurricane Melissa

A video recorded in Kingston on Oct. 27 shows residents preparing ahead of Hurricane Melissa's historic landfall.

"We’ve asked persons to not wait until it gets difficult to evacuate or to save you," Charles said. "If there is ever a time to listen and to take action, this is now."

Charles said they were already seeing storm surge in the Rocky Point area as of Sunday morning. Rocky Point is also among communities that are under the mandatory evacuation order.

A fallen Jamaica Public Service Company light pole is seen on the Sugar Man's beach main road in Hellshire, St Catherine parish, near Portmore, as Jamaica starts to feel the effects of Hurricane Melissa on October 26, 2025. Hurricane Melissa, already a major category 4 storm, gathered steam Sunday as it took aim at Jamaica and other parts of the Caribbean, with forecasters predicting catastrophic flooding and urging residents to seek shelter immediately.  (Photo by RICARDO MAKYN/AFP via Getty Images)

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"In the Rocky Point area, which is one of the areas along the southern coast, we were already seeing storm surges," he continued. "We were already hearing the roar and the wrath of the seas."

The last landfalling hurricane Jamaica experienced was in 2012 with Category 1 Hurricane Sandy, which caused major infrastructure damage. Melissa is forecast to make landfall as a Category 5 hurricane.

"We are looking at significant damage if this continues on this current trajectory," Charles said.

What are the expected impacts from Hurricane Melissa?

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Forecasts are warning of catastrophic flooding as the storm batters Jamaica with heavy rain for days. The NHC predicts widespread rainfall totals of 15-30 inches across portions of Jamaica and additional rainfall of 8-16 inches for southern Hispaniola through Wednesday, with storm totals of up to 40 inches possible.

And of course, there's the potential for destructive winds.

The NHC said tropical storm conditions are now occurring in Jamaica, and destructive hurricane conditions are expected to begin Monday night or early Tuesday.

"Wind speeds atop and on the windward side of hills and mountains could be up to 30 percent stronger than the near-surface winds indicated in this advisory, and in some elevated locations could be even greater," the NHC warned.

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Eastern Cuba may see 15-20 inches of rain between Monday and Wednesday. 

In addition, Melissa's massive wind field and slow crawl toward Jamaica will trigger a powerful storm surge along the southern coast of Jamaica from late Monday through Tuesday morning, with peak storm surge heights reaching 9-13 feet above ground level, near and to the east of where the center of Hurricane Melissa makes landfall.