Environmental Glance
As Hurricane Melissa crept closer to Jamaica on Monday, Oct. 27, the island nation braced for what could be its worst hurricane in recorded history, evacuating parts of its capital,More... closing airports and opening hundreds of shelters.
Melissa, a Category 5 storm, is expected to slam into Jamaica's southern coast on Tuesday morning, Oct. 28, with catastrophic consequences. It's also set to approach Cuba as a major hurricane and cross the central and southeastern Bahamas, forecasters said. Melissa poses no direct threat to the United States.
At 8 p.m. on Oct. 27, the National Hurricane Center reported Melissa was centered was about 155 miles southwest of Kingston, Jamaica, and 335 miles southwest of Guantanamo, Cuba, and had turned toward the northwest, moving at only about 2 mph. Its maximum sustained winds were estimated at 175 mph.
Melissa is forecast to make landfall along the southwestern coast of Jamaica on the morning of Oct. 28 near the Black River, then move inland, with the heaviest storm surge and rainfall along the coast to the east of the eyewall, the hurricane center said. Within the eyewall, "total structural failure" of buildings is likely, particularly at higher elevations and on the windward side of hills and mountains, where wind speeds could be up to 30% stronger than at the surface, the center reported.
Melissa intensified into a hurricane on Saturday, Oct. 25, as it continued its slow slog across the Caribbean Sea. Forecasters said the hurricane is expected to potentially power up to a Category 5 hurricane with winds up to 160 mph.
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