Hurricane Melissa's winds, flooding, and storm surge are expected to leave a historic mark in the Caribbean. Here’s what the footage shows

Hurricane Melissa tore through the northern Caribbean and was picking up speed as it churned toward Bermuda Thursday after killing at least 34 people across Jamaica, Cuba and Haiti.

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 is edging toward Jamaica and is set to make landfall as a historic Category 5 storm, with winds of more than 170 mph. Jamaica is bracing for what the National Hurricane Center said would be catastrophic flash flooding and landslides caused by up to 40 inches of rain in some places. The storm is due to make landfall early tomorrow.

Hurricane Melissa hits Jamaica with life-threatening storm surge as Cubans warned to seek shelter: Live updates - The storm made landfall in the southwestern part of the island, with destructive winds

Melissa will be one of the most devastating hurricanes on record in Jamaica, with widespread flooding, landslides and destructive winds. Flooding rain is also a grave concern in Hispaniola and Cuba. Here's the latest forecast.

Category 5 Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Jamaica as the strongest storm — and only Category 5 hurricane — ever recorded in the nation’s history.

The scale of the devastation caused by Hurricane Melissa is emerging, with dozens of people known to have died in Haiti and four deaths reported in Jamaica - and the storm is now approaching the Bahamas.

Hurricane Melissa has made landfall on Jamaica as the strongest storm to hit the Caribbean island in the 174 years since records began

Hurricane Melissa, the most powerful storm of the 2025 Atlantic season, made landfall in Jamaica Tuesday as possibly its worst storm in recorded history.