When we talk about hurricanes, the first number you usually hear is wind speed. That makes sense. Wind is what tears off roofs, knocks down trees, and turns debris into dangerous missiles. Wind kicks up waves and pushes storm surge onto beaches.

Joan Edghill of Ocoee worried about her 90-year-old uncle in Jamaica as the ferocious Category 5 Hurricane Melissa barreled toward the country where she was born.

After tearing through the Caribbean, leaving destruction, flooding and more than 50 deaths so far, Melissa has lost power heading into the Atlantic.

Hurricane Melissa is moving quickly away from Bermuda and is expected to become extratropical on Friday, according to the National Hurricane Center. Melissa is currently located approximately 255 miles north of Bermuda. It has maximum sustained winds of 90 mph and a minimum central pressure of 973 millibars.

Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Cuba overnight after battering Jamaica as one of the most powerful landfalling storms in Atlantic basin history.

During Hurricane Melissa’s wrath on the Caribbean, hurricane hunters played a crucial role in collecting data on Melissa’s sustained wind speeds and minimum central pressure. During one of the final intercepts of Hurricane Melissa prior to landfall in Jamaica,

The National Hurricane Center's 8 a.m. Wednesday update reported that Category 2 Hurricane Melissa is 45 miles northwest of Guantanamo Cuba and 205 miles south of the Central Bahamas. The hurricane is moving to the north-northeast at 14 mph, with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph.

The National Hurricane Center's 10 a.m. Thursday update reported that Category 2 Hurricane Melissa is in the Atlantic Ocean, 215 miles northeast of the Central Bahamas and 685 miles southwest of Bermuda. The hurricane is moving north-northeast at 21 mph, with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph.

Forecasters said the colossal amount of rain dropped on parts of Florida east and north of Orlando was comparable to what the region saw from a hurricane in 2022, underscoring the state's vulnerability to extreme weather far beyond the tropical storms that brew offshore.

The WXII 12 First Warning Weather Team is monitoring Hurricane Melissa that is moving over the central and southern Bahamas and strengthening. Forecast track takes it over the Atlantic next quickly and then near Bermuda.