🔗 Share this article

Tropical Storm the storm is predicted to strengthen into a uncommon Category 5 cyclone as it turns in the direction of the Caribbean island, delivering life-threatening rapid inundation and mudslides.

This weather system, which recorded winds of up to 120 mph as of 06:00 GMT, is currently turning north-west in the Caribbean Sea and is expected to make landfall by early next week, based on data from weather experts.

Advisories of blackouts and structural damage have been announced as Melissa produces up to 76cm of rain and sea level surges as high as thirteen feet above normal levels. "Take cover without delay," residents have been told.

The cyclone is the thirteenth storm in the ongoing Atlantic season, which typically ends in November.

Highest-Level Cyclone Risk

A Category 5 hurricane is the most intense classification, with winds of at least 157 miles per hour.

Even though Melissa is set to diminish in strength to a category four storm before reaching Jamaica, experts said there was "minimal real distinction in the total effects" upon making contact with land, and that the storm will be "just as powerful" when it impacts the country.

Critical Readiness Measures

With storm-force wind and rainfall predicted to begin well before it passes over Jamaica's central region - including potentially the national capital - warnings indicate that "readiness efforts must be accelerated".

"A multi-day period of damaging winds and intense precipitation have begun and will cause devastating and dangerous flash flooding and multiple mudslides," counseled meteorological officials.

The nation's leader Andrew Holness stated: "I understand that there are countless citizens who are worried, who are very concerned, and rightfully so: worry is natural.

"Yet the optimal approach to address nervousness and any nervousness and worry is to remain prepared."

Residents are being told to secure their homes with sand barriers and plywood sheets, and to accumulate basic necessities.

Wider Effects

Advisories are also ongoing for regions of Haiti encompassing the main city, Port au Prince, the Dominican Republic and the eastern part of Cuba, where this storm is projected to bring comparable impacts by the middle portion of the coming week.

Landslides currently triggered by the storm have already killed two in the country, according to the nation's Civil Protection agency.

Future Trajectory

Melissa is predicted to move across Cuba by Wednesday before traveling via the Caribbean archipelago and out into the Atlantic Ocean.

By the time it arrives at Cuba, it is forecast to have diminished to a category three cyclone.

Weather Background

While it is difficult to associate specific storms to environmental shifts, scientists say it is resulting in weather phenomena more common and more extreme.

Increased sea temperatures produce greater water vapor in the air, helping fuel the formation of tropical cyclones.

Before the commencement of this year's Caribbean cyclone season, meteorological authorities forecast higher-than-average occurrence, mentioning elevated ocean temperatures and potential enhanced seasonal rains around African coastal regions - where Atlantic storms typically originate.