Catastrophic situation unfolding as Hurricane Melissa threatens Jamaica with days of intense destructive winds and heavy rainfall

Finally, sea-levels are rising, mainly due to a combination of melting glaciers and ice sheets, and the fact that warmer water takes up more space. Local factors can also play a part. This means storm surges happen on top of already elevated sea levels, worsening coastal flooding.

And then there is Hurricane Melissa. With humble beginnings as a thunderstorm complex near the African coast, the storm moved west as part of a midtropospheric wave. As it crossed the Atlantic Ocean,

HONG KONG >> Super Typhoon Ragasa, the world’s most powerful tropical cyclone this year, lashed Hong Kong with hurricane-force winds and torrential rain on Wednesday, while heavy downpours in Taiwan resulted in the deaths of 14 people.

Gathering data from planes inside hurricanes is a dangerous game and 52 lives have been lost since operations began in 1944.

Hurricane season can be stressful for anyone near the potential path of a storm, as powerful winds and heavy rain can cause widespread damage, cut power for days or weeks and otherwise upend people’s lives.

According to the NHC, the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, developed in 1971 by civil engineer Herbert Saffir and meteorologist Robert Homer Simpson, is a rating of 1 to 5 based on a hurricane's sustained wind speed and its potential for significant loss of life and damage.

Hurricane Melissa’s powerful winds and drenching rains devastated Jamaica. But is its wrath a sign that we need a new designation for monster storms?

Super Typhoon Ragasa, the strongest storm of 2025, is battering the Philippines with 162 mph winds, mass evacuations, and storm surge warnings.

State weather bureau Pagasa has refuted viral online claims that a “super typhoon” named Tino is set to hit the Visayas and Mimaropa next week. The agency clarified that no such storm has been detected yet within the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR).

Densely populated Hong Kong is being slammed by its most powerful storm in years, with Super Typhoon Ragasa packing hurricane-force winds and a dangerous storm surge.

Over the last 40 years, oceans have absorbed about 90% of the warming caused by heat-trapping greenhouse gas emissions. Scientists say this additional heat can fuel a storm's intensity and power stronger winds. FBI says NBA's Billups, Rozier among those arrested in gambling probe