Hurricane Melissa October 2025

[William Monfredo]

While the US coastline experiences its biggest lull in hurricane landfalls in a decade, Hurricane Melissa heads towards eastern Jamaica, poised to create a multitude of problems there later this weekend & beyond. Infrared image from 22:20Z, GOES 19 Band 13, shows an intensified system that will soon grow into a major hurricane, albeit a slow-moving one for the next few days.

 

[William Monfredo]

Sixty-two years ago, another major Hurricane lingered in the Caribbean in October (NCEP).
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1963's Hurricane Flora produced benchmark rains along a slow-moving & loopy path.
Cuba, for example, saw 100 + inches in spots. The storm also killed over 7000 people.

 

[Warren Faidley]

Not chasing Hurricane Melissa. Lack of infrastructure in the face of a possible Category 5 in a poor nation is not my idea of fun. Good luck to those who are going after it.

 

[Warren Faidley]

I'm amazed at how many chasers with little or no experience are pursuing Hurricane Melissa -- per social media. Love the quest for adventure, but trying to tackle a Cat-5 on a tiny island with very poor infrastructure, including no elevated coastal highways for last minute repositioning, is a recipe for disaster. I've also been told by residents in Jamaica that many of the coastal buildings are no "up to code."

 

[William Monfredo]

...a recipe for disaster.

I fully agree. I've got a friend down there that I've lost touch with over the years, and I'm certainly concerned.
The coffee plantations that got back up to speed after the last hurricanes will have a lot of work to do afterwards...
...as will other agricultural concerns, too.

The 21:40Z GeoColor composite image shows ~ 10 nautical-mile-wide eye.
I know I wouldn't want to be in Jamaica (or SE Cuba) later tonight/tomorrow.

 

[Warren Faidley]

There is one chaser who is in a locked down hotel and keeps asking for advice on social media. I've replied a few times. The actual hurricane is dangerous, but the aftermath could be even worse. After Ivan in 2004, emergency workers (and others) were being robbed at gun point and there was wide spread looting, some with firearms. The few times I've been in scary, post-storm situations, I've always removed the camera data cards right after the storm and placed them in a safe hiding place in the event I'm robbed of my cameras. Getting around afterwards would be a nightmare.