Hurricane Melissa Live Tracker: Landfall Date, Areas Likely To Be Affected And All You Need To Know

Hurricane Melissa is expected to make landfall in Jamaica soon. One of the most powerful hurricanes to strike the Caribbean region, Melissa has been marked as a rare Category 5 hurricane with 160 mph winds, as per the US-based National Hurricane Centre (NHC).

The storm, which intensified rapidly over the weekend, is expected to make landfall in Jamaica on Tuesday morning. It is said to be the strongest hurricane on record to hit the island, according to a CNN Weather report. The centre of the hurricane is located about 130 miles south of Kingston, Jamaica, and the storm is moving westward at just 3 mph.

"Do not venture out of your safe shelter," the NHC was cited as saying on Monday morning by CNN. "Catastrophic and life-threatening flash flooding and numerous landslides are likely today through Tuesday," it added.

The Jamaican government issued mandatory evacuation orders Sunday evening for several vulnerable coastal communities.

In a rare move, hurricane Messlisa has not been picking up pace and is averaging just 3 to 5 mph. As a result, tropical storm conditions are already affecting Jamaica, with full hurricane conditions expected tonight into early Tuesday, according to a Guardian report.

The storm has been moving very slowly for several days and is expected to continue westward at a slow pace until Monday afternoon. This sluggish movement has resulted in widespread rainfall in the affected countries. For instance, torrential rain has inundated Haiti and the Dominican Republic, triggering flooding and landslides. At least three people have died in Haiti, while the Dominican Republic has reported one death and over 1,000 evacuations or displacements.

"Storm surge is expected mainly over the southern side of the island, and this would be to the east of the centre as it starts to, as it approaches the south coast, and as it begins to make impact," Evan Thompson, the principal director of Jamaica’s Meteorological Service, was quoted as saying by CNN.

Over the weekend, Melissa, which is moving unusually slowly, underwent extremely rapid intensification. This followed due to the unusually warm Caribbean waters, which resulted in a doubling in strength. 

Jamaica, Haiti and the southern Dominican Republic are expected to face the worst impacts through Tuesday, the CNN report added. Eastern Cuba, the southern Bahamas and Turks and Caicos are expected to face strong winds, storm surge and flooding rain. 

It is anticipated that rainfall could reach 30 inches in parts of southern Hispaniola and Jamaica, while eastern Cuba may see up to 20 inches.

Jamaica and other nations remain in emergency mode, anticipating the heavy impact of the hurricane-induced storm. Schools, public institutions, businesses and airports have been closed as a precautionary measure as the storm is expected to result in widespread structural damage and long-lasting power and communication outages.

Hurricane Melissa’s anticipated peak winds of 160 mph (257 km/h) will make it the strongest of only five hurricanes ever recorded to hit Jamaica directly, the Guardian report added. 

Here is the live tracker map from windy.com, which shows the movement and route of Hurricane Melissa. 

According to Zoom Earth, Hurricane Melissa’s current wind speed stands at 260 kmph. Track here.