Hurricane Melissa is set to pummel Jamaica as a catastrophic Category 5 storm, the strongest to lash the island since recordkeeping began 174 years ago.

Jamaica is bracing for the world's strongest storm of 2025 after Hurricane Melissa was blamed for seven deaths across the Caribbean.The Category 5 hurricane is expected to gather speed and batter the Caribbean country with up to 30 inches of rain when it makes landfall early Tuesday.

Melissa underwent extreme rapid intensification, strengthening to a rare Category 5 with winds of 175 mph and stronger gusts, making it the strongest storm on the planet this year. Follow for live updates.

The U.S. Defense Department has released footage of views inside Hurricane Melissa. The military said a U.S. Air Force Reserve crew from the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, known as the “Hurricane Hunters,

Article last updated: Monday, Oct. 27, 2025, 1 p.m. ET

As Hurricane Melissa nears Jamaica, cruise trips that left from South Florida are changing their itineraries. Category 5 Melissa is expected to make landfall Tuesday morning on the southern coast of Jamaica, according to the National Hurricane Center. Forecasts have it hitting the Bahamas and Cuba later this week.

A powerful hurricane is barreling toward Jamaica with anticipation that it will be the strongest storm to hit the Caribbean island in modern history. Hurricane Melissa began rapidly intensifying over the weekend.

Article last updated: Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025, 7 a.m. ET