Hurricane Melissa becomes a category 5 south of Jamaica

After undergoing a few eyewall replacement cycles Sunday evening, hurricane Melissa has become the third category 5 storm of the 2025 Atlantic season. The other two were Erin back in mid-August and Humberto back in late-September. 

 

    

The latest from the National Hurricane Center shows Melissa has max sustained winds up to 160 mph and a centralized pressure of 917mb. You can also tell how strong Hurricane Melissa is by how it's being represented on satellite imagery. 

The storm has a stacked cylindrical core that's surrounded by a small pinhole eye with ventilation occurring aloft in the upper-level of the atmosphere. These are the signs of a healthy, strong, and well-put together tropical cyclone.     

Melissa is slowly drifting to the west, but is expected to make a turn to the northeast towards Jamaica by late Monday into early Tuesday morning. The storm will then maintain hurricane strength as it moves over Cuba Tuesday into Wednesday.