Melissa Wreaks Havoc Across Caribbean, Heads for Bahamas

On October 30, 2025, Hurricane Melissa made landfall around 3 AM Eastern time near Santiago de Cuba as a powerful Category 3 storm on the Saffir-Simpson scale. The hurricane then weakened to a Category 2 as it moved across the rugged terrain of Cuba, but it still packed sustained wind speeds of around 105 miles (169 kilometres) per hour.

Melissa's arrival in the Caribbean has been devastating. The storm has dumped torrential rain on Cuba, triggering landslides and flooding in the nation's second-largest city. The Charco Mono Dam, which supplies water to Santiago de Cuba, was also reportedly overflowing, and authorities were working to rescue residents trapped by the floodwaters. Prior to the storm's arrival, Cuban officials had evacuated about 735,000 people.

On Tuesday, Melissa became the strongest recorded storm to hit Jamaica, with winds reaching 185 miles per hour. Hundreds of thousands were left without power, and hospitals were forced to evacuate in the wake of the hurricane's destruction. Property damage in Jamaica is estimated to be between $5 billion and $10 billion.

Despite the catastrophic damage, the island was spared an "absolute worst-case scenario," according to Adam Douty, a senior meteorologist at AccuWeather. Douty noted that if Melissa had made landfall 50 miles farther east around Kingston, the impact could have been even more severe.

As of October 30, 2025, Melissa is expected to track west of Bermuda on Thursday before degrading into an extra-tropical cyclone late Friday or early Saturday, according to the US National Hurricane Center. However, the hurricane is still forecast to hit the Bahamas later on Wednesday as a hurricane-strength storm.