According to the National Hurricane Center's 5 a.m. Tuesday advisory, Category 5 Hurricane Melissa is in the Caribbean Sea, 115 miles west-southwest of Kingston Jamaica and 290 miles southwest of Guantanamo Cuba. With maximum sustained winds of 175 mph, the hurricane is moving to the north-northeast at 5 mph.

Only 81 hurricanes have struck as Category 4 or higher since 1851, or about one every other year on average. A couple have crippled multiple points at that strength. Irma, in 2017, managed to hit five countries as a Category 4 or 5 — the most of any storm in the Atlantic.

The hurricane center said in a 5 a.m. ET advisory on Oct. 27 Melissa was located about 130 miles south-southwest of Kingston, Jamaica with maximum sustained winds near 160 mph with higher gusts. Jamaican officials have evacuated low-lying areas and opened hundreds of shelters in preparation of "life-threatening" storm conditions.

Hurricane Melissa, now a powerful Category 5 storm, will slam into Jamaica on Monday as the worst storm the island has ever seen.

Hurricane Melissa is expected to make landfall in Jamaica on Tuesday morning and move across southeastern Cuba Tuesday night.

Article last updated: Monday, Oct. 27, 2025, 11 p.m. ET

Hurricane Melissa intensified to a Category 5 storm on Monday amid warnings of 'life-threatening' flooding' in Jamaica.

This story was originally published by Grist and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.