Article last updated: Monday, Oct. 27, 2025, 4 p.m. ET

According to the National Hurricane Center's 8 a.m. Tuesday advisory, Category 5 Hurricane Melissa is in the Caribbean Sea, 55 miles south-southeast of Negril Jamaica and 265 miles southwest of Guantanamo Cuba. With maximum sustained winds of 175 mph, the hurricane is moving to the north-northeast at 7 mph.

Evan Thompson with the Meteorological Service of Jamaica warned that the impending landfall of Category 5 Hurricane Melissa would cause catastrophic and “life-threatening” damage. Thompson advised seeking shelter in buildings with as many walls as possible to separate them from the outside.

This story was originally published by Grist and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.

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?

Melissa, now a Category 2 hurricane, will bring heavy rain from the Mid-Atlantic to New England as it heads toward Bermuda and Newfoundland, Canada.