Hurricane Melissa\u2019s maximum sustained winds had increased to 105 mph as the restrengthening storm made its way past the Bahamas early Thursday after lashing Cuba on Wednesday and carving a slow and destructive path in Jamaica and triggering deadly floods in Haiti.
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\nMelissa will grow in size on its way toward Bermuda and is expected to pass northwest of the island. It could restrengthen more by Thursday evening, though it would be a \u201cquick event\u201d for the island with not much rain given Melissa\u2019s faster speed by that time, according to Michael Brennan, director of the National Hurricane Center in Miami.<\/p>\n
The storm made its second landfall just after 3 a.m. Wednesday in eastern Cuba near the city of Chivirico as a Category 3 storm, a day after barreling into Jamaica with 185 mph sustained winds \u2014 tied for the strongest Atlantic hurricane landfall in recorded history.
\nThe U.S. east coast should expect large swells and tumultuous marine conditions, as effects from Melissa combine with a storm traveling across the U.S.<\/p>\n
Destruction reached far beyond Jamaica. At least 23 people have died across Haiti and 18 are missing, Haiti\u2019s Civil Protection Agency said in a statement, revising the death toll downward. Twenty of those reported dead and 10 of the missing are from the southern coastal town of Petit-Go\u00e2ve, where flooding collapsed dozens of homes.
\nMelissa already had been blamed for seven deaths in the Caribbean, including three in Jamaica, three in Haiti and one in the Dominican Republic, where another person remains missing. At least one new death was reported in Jamaica on Wednesday after a tree fell on a baby. Authorities have found at least four bodies in southwest Jamaica as of Thursday.<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Andrew Holness said up to 90% of roofs in the southwest coastal community of Black River were destroyed.
\n\u201cThe people are still coming to grips with the destruction.\u201d
\nMore than 25,000 people remained crowded into shelters across the western half of Jamaica, with 77% of the island without power.
\nEmergency relief flights began landing at Jamaica\u2019s main international airport, which reopened late Wednesday, as crews distributed water, food and other basic supplies.
\n\u201cThe devastation is enormous,\u201d Jamaican Transportation Minister Daryl Vaz said.<\/p>\n
As of 5 a.m. Thursday, Melissa\u2019s core was 215 miles northeast of the central Bahamas. The storm\u2019s wind had had increased to 105 mph, up from 90 mph at 8 p.m. Wednesday. Melissa was moving north-northeast at 21 mph.
\nHurricane Melissa’s path as of 5 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025. (National Hurricane Center\/Courtesy)<\/p>\n
About 1 p.m. Tuesday, Melissa\u2019s eye made its first landfall at New Hope, Jamaica, 75 miles west of Kingston, with maximum sustained winds of 185 mph.
\nThe storm\u2019s impacts have been dramatic. Heavy floodwaters swept across southwestern Jamaica, winds tore roofs off buildings and boulders tumbled into roads.<\/p>\n
The U.S. government said it was deploying a disaster response team and search-and-rescue personnel to the region. And the State Department said non-emergency personnel and family members of U.S. government employees were authorized to leave Jamaica because of the storm\u2019s impact.
\nAuthorities said about 735,000 people that were in shelters in eastern Cuba had begun returning home.
\nPeople recover belongings from a home flooded by Hurricane Melissa in Santiago de Cuba, Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025. (AP Photo\/Ram\u00f3n Espinosa)<\/p>\n
Melissa is the 13th named storm of the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season.
\nIncluding Melissa, five hurricanes have formed so far.
\nOf the 13 named Atlantic storms, only Tropical Storm Chantal has made a U.S. landfall.
\nWPLG-TV meteorologist Michael Lowry wrote in his Eye on the Tropics newsletter that long-range models show conditions hostile to hurricanes, with a \u201cwinter-like pattern settling over much of the Atlantic in the coming weeks.\u201d In other words, the tropics look mellow for the first half of November.
\nHurricane season runs through Nov. 30.<\/p>\n
Q: What is the current status of Hurricane Melissa?
\nA: Hurricane Melissa is currently restrengthening as it moves past the Bahamas, with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph.
\nQ: What is the expected impact of Hurricane Melissa on Bermuda?
\nA: Melissa is expected to pass northwest of the island, with a potential for restrengthening, but it would be a \u201cquick event\u201d for the island with not much rain given Melissa\u2019s faster speed by that time.
\nQ: How many people have been affected by Hurricane Melissa?
\nA: At least 23 people have died across Haiti and 18 are missing, and more than 25,000 people remained crowded into shelters across the western half of Jamaica, with 77% of the island without power.
\nQ: What is the international response to Hurricane Melissa?
\nA: The U.S. government is deploying a disaster response team and search-and-rescue personnel to the region, and the State Department has authorized non-emergency personnel and family members of U.S. government employees to leave Jamaica due to the storm\u2019s impact.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Introduction to Hurricane Melissa Hurricane Melissa\u2019s maximum sustained winds had increased to 105 mph as the restrengthening storm made its way past the Bahamas early Thursday after lashing Cuba on Wednesday and carving a slow and destructive path in Jamaica and triggering deadly floods in Haiti. Melissa will grow in size on its way toward […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":21832,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-21830","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-weather"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.sun-sentinel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/AP25302644225978.jpg?w=1400px&strip=all&w=1400&resize=1400,933&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21830"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21830"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21830\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21833,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21830\/revisions\/21833"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21832"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21830"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21830"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21830"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}