Melissa's top winds of 185 mph are the second-strongest ever reported in an Atlantic hurricane. The storm ties for the strongest storm to hit land, along with the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935, which hit the Florida Keys, and Hurricane Dorian in 2019, which hit the Bahamas.

As of 8 a.m. Eastern Tuesday, Melissa had gained strength as a Category 5 hurricane, centered about 55 miles south-southeast of Negril, Jamaica, and about 265 miles southwest of Guantánamo, Cuba, moving north, northeast at 5 mph, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami.

UPDATE: Tropical Storm Jerry forms over Atlantic. See latest forecast map, track. The National Hurricane Center is tracking a tropical system in the central Atlantic that has a high probability of becoming a tropical depression within the next week.

Hurricane Melissa on Monday became the third Category 5 Atlantic hurricane in 2025, and all of them surged up within days/ Why is this happening?