Jamaica, Hurricane Melissa and Florida
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After devastating Jamaica, Cuba and the Bahamas, Hurricane Melissa is heading toward Bermuda. Will it affect Florida?
Travelers are finally starting to come home from Jamaica, Cuba and other islands that were impacted by the major hurricane earlier this week.
Hurricane Melissa is expected to continue strengthening and become a Category 5 hurricane, according to the NHC, Saturday, Oct. 25.
FOX 35 Orlando on MSN
Hurricane Melissa closes in on Jamaica as tourists from Florida brace for Cat 5 storm
ORLANDO, Fla. - Hurricane Melissa is barreling toward Jamaica and is expected to make landfall as a Category 5 hurricane. Millions on the island are getting ready in the final hours before it hits. That includes some trapped tourists FOX 35 spoke with.
Melissa is not expected to make landfall in Florida or the U.S. The powerful storm is expected to make landfall on the island nation of Jamaica Tuesday morning. At 2 p.m., Melissa has maximum sustained winds of 165 mph with higher gusts. Melissa is a dangerously powerful Category 5 hurricane.
Hurricane Melissa, the most powerful storm of the 2025 Atlantic season, made landfall in Jamaica Tuesday as possibly its worst storm in recorded history.
Forecasters said the colossal amount of rain dropped on parts of Florida east and north of Orlando was comparable to what the region saw from a hurricane in 2022, underscoring the state's vulnerability to extreme weather far beyond the tropical storms that brew offshore.
According to the hurricane center, Hurricane Melissa has a significant possibility of making landfall on Jamaica as a major hurricane and could maintain major hurricane strength when it reaches eastern Cuba. Forecasters say Melissa poses little to no risk for Florida and the U.S. at this time.
Historic, life-threatening flash flooding and landslides are expected in portions of Jamaica, southern Haiti and the Dominican Republic through the weekend, the NHC said. Peak storm surge heights could reach 9 to 13 feet above normal tide levels in Jamaica, accompanied by large and powerfully destructive waves.
At 5 p.m., Melissa was located about 80 miles south of the Central Bahamas. Melissa is not expected to make landfall in Florida or the U.S. The powerful storm made landfall on Jamaica Tuesday morning and on Cuba early Wednesday morning. It's expected to move across the Bahamas later today and pass near Bermuda late Thursday.
Hurricane Melissa has strengthened back into a Category 2 hurricane after devastating Jamaica, Cuba and the Bahamas and is heading toweard Bermuda.