Jamaica was in the crosshairs of Hurricane Melissa as of Saturday evening, with a Hurricane Warning in effect from the National Hurricane Center.
A hurricane warning means that hurricane conditions are expected in the warning area within 36 hours.
As of Saturday evening, the storm was about 130 miles southeast of Kingston, with maximum sustained winds of 100 miles per hour. The slow-moving storms was moving at just 3 miles an hour.
The NHC said that “life threatening and catastrophic flash flooding and landslides were expected” in portions of both Hispaniola and Jamaica into early next week.
A slightly less severe Hurricane Watch was in effect for parts of Haiti and the Cuban provinces of ranma, Santiago de Cuba, Guantanamo, and Holguin.
The expectation is that Melissa will be a major hurricane when it makes landfall in Jamaica early next week.
The island is already preparing for the storm.
Jamaica’s Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston — on the south coast of the island and nearer to the storm — already closed at 9PM on Saturday night.
Jamaica’s Sanster International Airport in Montego Bay was set to close on Sunday at 12pm as a precautionary measure.
“We continue to pray that the storm weakens, but we are preparing for the worst while hoping for the best,” Jamaica Prime Minister Andrew Holness said in an address. “All Government agencies have been fully mobilized and are executing preemptive actions, including extensive drain and gully cleaning across the island.”
Caribbean Journal Staff
2025-10-26 00:31:00