Hurricane Melissa followed what has unfortunately become a pattern for major storms: It formed late in the season, intensified rapidly, then stalled near the coast.

Hurricane Melissa became one of the most powerful hurricanes on record to make landfall in the Atlantic Basin.

Hurricane Melissa— one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes ever recorded—is now off Cuba’s eastern coast, after leaving a trail of destruction across the large island and its much smaller neighbor, Jamaica.

Hurricane Melissa is now among the most powerful Atlantic hurricanes on record. The monster storm tied a record for the strongest winds speeds by an Atlantic storm while making landfall as it hit Jamaica Tuesday.

November hurricanes are rare in the Gulf of Mexico. Here's why Texas doesn't see November landfalls even though the storm season lasts until Nov. 30.–

Hurricane Melissa pummeled areas of the Caribbean already vulnerable to landslides and flash flooding — made worse by decades of deforestation — with risks likely to continue for days, experts said