Evacuation orders issued. Hurricane Melissa Now Strongest Storm of 2025
People buy groceries in Kingston, Jamaica, Sunday, Oct. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Hurricane Melissa has strengthened into the most powerful storm on Earth so far in 2025, according to the National Hurricane Center. With maximum sustained winds reaching 175 mph, the monster storm is now a Category 5 hurricane as it bears down on Jamaica. Only nine Atlantic hurricanes in recorded history have produced stronger sustained winds, with Hurricane Allen in 1980 still holding the all-time record at 190 mph, CNN reports.
Melissa ranks among the fiercest storms ever to strike the Caribbean, behind only Allen, Wilma (2005), Mitch (1998), and Gilbert (1988) — the last major hurricane to make a direct hit on Jamaica.
The storm is currently creeping northward at a slow 3 mph, its outer bands already lashing Jamaica with tropical-storm-force gusts between 39 and 73 mph. Forecasters warn that hurricane-force winds could reach land after midnight, with the eye expected to make landfall early Tuesday. Though slight weakening is possible before landfall, Melissa is still forecast to deliver catastrophic wind damage even if it drops to a Category 4 intensity, according to the New York Times.
Jamaica’s government is urging citizens to take evacuation orders seriously. Labor Minister Pearnel Charles called the orders “a directive to save your life,” stressing the storm’s slow movement and extreme intensity could bring “potentially extreme devastation and danger.” Buses are evacuating residents from vulnerable communities, and officials warn those in flood-prone zones to move to higher ground immediately. Heavy rain is already falling, and the worst downpours are expected overnight, raising the risk of life-threatening flash floods and landslides.
“I have been on my knees in prayer,” said Prime Minister Andrew Holness, as the country braces for what could be one of the worst hurricanes in its history, according to the AP.
Climate experts are also sounding the alarm. Liz Stephens, a professor of climate risks and resilience at the University of Reading, told The Guardian that Melissa has all the hallmarks of a “catastrophic storm.” She warned that Jamaica must prepare for “potentially unimaginable impacts,” and noted that climate change is producing stronger, wetter storms around the world.
After Jamaica, Melissa is expected to track toward Cuba and the Bahamas, while steering clear of the United States. A strong cold front along the East Coast is forecast to keep the hurricane offshore, though rough surf and dangerous rip currents are expected from Wednesday into the weekend.
President Donald Trump has been briefed on the storm’s progress and federal agencies are monitoring potential impacts to U.S. coastal areas.
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