How ‘strange, slow’ Hurricane Melissa became such a monster

Hurricane Melissa quickly reached Jamaica as a massive storm.

The storm that hit the island’s west coast on Tuesday blew off roofs and pelted the streets with rain as it began its path of destruction.

With a maximum sustained wind speed of 185 miles per hour (297 km/h),The world’s strongest storm of 2025, According to the US-based National Hurricane Center (NHC)..

Like other boomers this year, Melissa exhibited strange, intense growth spurts; Scientists attribute this to climate change.

They say hurricanes are actually ‘convective heat engines’, meaning they are propelled by the rise and fall of warm, moist air from the ocean.

The warmer the ocean, the more energy a hurricane can pack and cause more destruction.

Professor Friederike Otto, a leading climate scientist from Imperial College London and chair of World Weather Attribution, told the Daily Mail: ‘The Gulf of Mexico has been very hot in recent months due to global warming, largely driven by the burning of fossil fuels, providing ideal conditions for hurricanes to become very intense.’

Analysis by the research group Climate Central suggests that unusually warm waters in the Gulf of Mexico are 700 times more likely to be caused by climate change.

This study suggests that these warm waters, combined with overall tropical climate warming, increased Melissa’s wind speeds by about 10 miles per hour (16 km/h), increasing potential damage by 50 percent.

‘Every hurricane we have studied in the North Atlantic over the years has become more intense, both in terms of wind speeds and associated rainfall, due to climate change,’ says Professor Otto.

‘Melissa is no exception, but it’s still a gauge of how intense we need to do the work.’

Hurricanes are hard to predict, according to The New York TimesThe NHC emphasizes that its models often differ from the storm’s actual path.

Professor Hannah Cloke, a hydrologist at the University of Reading, told the Daily Mail that the eruption would ‘leave a deep and lasting scar across the entire region’.

He added: ‘Melissa was a strange, slow hurricane moving across the Atlantic, growing stronger and stronger with explosions.

Scientists say Hurricane Melissa had perfect conditions to cause major damage. It grew for several days in the Gulf of Mexico and moved very slowly as it approached land.

‘This is one of those deadly scenarios you prepare for but desperately hope won’t happen. ‘People taking refuge on the island are in great danger.’

Scientists have warned that Melissa’s initially slow passage – about five miles per hour (seven kilometers per hour) – means the storm will persist over Jamaica for several days, creating more destruction by the minute.

The NHC predicts this could dump up to 40 inches (100 cm) of rain on some parts of the island, triggering major flooding.

At the same time, storm surges are expected to reach heights of 9 to 13 feet (2.7 to 3.9 meters) above ground level near where Melissa makes landfall.

The storm reached Category 4 status on October 26 after wind speeds increased to more than 70 miles per hour (112 km/h) in just one day.

The next day, the storm further intensified to Category 5 as it drifted over warm ocean waters.

When Hurricane Melissa made landfall, the most immediate damage occurred due to rapid flooding.

Scientists warn that at its current speed, Hurricane Melissa could continue over Jamaica for several more days.

Jamaica is no stranger to tropical storms and is considered well prepared compared to other islands in the region

Experts say storm surge caused by low atmospheric pressure and friction between wind and water will likely be the deadliest component.

For example, during Typhoon Haiyan in 2013, 6,300 people died in Eastern Visayas, Philippines, mostly during a 16-foot (five-meter) storm surge.

Professor David Alexander, Emeritus Professor of Emergency Planning and Management at University College London, told the Daily Mail: ‘Flood damage will be huge and very significant. Fast-moving water will erode the foundations of buildings and uproot trees.’

At the same time, the winds will be strong enough to tear off roofs and destroy buildings, even where metal brackets known as hurricane straps have been installed.

To make matters worse, Professor Alexander points out that when major hurricanes hit land, they often spawn more than one hurricane.

Like many islands in the Caribbean, Jamaica is particularly vulnerable to the effects of hurricanes due to its low-lying geography.

The storm has already caused heavy rains in the Dominican Republic, where roads were flooded last week.

Scientists warn that Jamaica’s low-lying geography and small size make it particularly vulnerable to flooding from storm surge, often the deadliest part of a hurricane. Image: Downed power lines in St Catherine Parish, Jamaica

The speed of the wind will be strong enough to blow off roofs and destroy houses. Some homes were already severely damaged before the storm arrived (pictured)

Meteorologist Dr. from Oxford University. Lina Speight told the Daily Mail: ‘Jamaica is a small island, which means there are limited safe areas.

‘Everywhere will be affected by strong winds, with the majority of the population living in low-lying coastal areas that will be affected by flooding.’

Jamaica is no stranger to tropical storms and is considered well prepared compared to other islands in the region.

But all the storms the country has faced in the past were Category 3 or smaller hurricanes.

Experts are increasingly concerned that Hurricane Melissa could be stronger than the island is ready to face.

‘It’s very difficult to prepare for something much bigger than anyone has ever experienced before,’ says Dr Speight.

‘Buildings, infrastructure and disaster management plans have never been tested to this level before.’

Although Jamaica is thought to be better prepared for hurricanes compared to some islands in the Caribbean, experts worry that Melissa may be too strong to properly prepare. Pictured: A man riding a bike before Hurricane Melissa arrived

Scientists warn that Hurricane Melissa is becoming much more dangerous due to climate change; This increases the likelihood of abnormally warm waters in the Gulf of Mexico by almost 700 times

While Jamaica is richer than many of its neighbors, such as Haiti and the Dominican Republic on the island of Hispanola, the country has significantly limited resources to prepare for and recover from the devastation to come.

Scientists also warn that storms on the scale of Hurricane Melissa could become more common in the future.

Hurricanes will become stronger as climate change continues to increase average ocean surface temperatures and make extreme heat events more intense.

Professor Ralf Toumi, an expert on the link between climate change and hurricanes, told the Daily Mail: ‘We know that warmer oceans will withstand stronger storms, so there is a direct link to climate change.’

Although the total number of hurricanes remains unchanged, major storms ranging from Category 3 to Category 5 are becoming more frequent.

This means that islands in the Caribbean will need to prepare for devastation on the scale of Hurricane Melissa again in the near future.