Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Jamaica on 2025-10-28 as a Category 5 storm and was tied for the strongest landfalling Atlantic hurricane in recorded history.
October 28, 2025
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Meteorological characterization and historical ranking of Hurricane Melissa's landfall.
Local Jamaican officials reported that Hurricane Melissa damaged approximately 120,000 structures and affected about 90,000 families in the island's western region in 2025.
October 28, 2025
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Reported damage and number of families affected in Jamaica following Hurricane Melissa's landfall.
A 2025 Climate Central analysis found that the ocean waters over which Hurricane Melissa rapidly intensified were 1.4°C (2.5°F) warmer than average and that such warm-water conditions were made up to 700 times more likely because of human-caused climate change.
October 27, 2025
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Attribution analysis linking anomalously warm ocean temperatures to human-caused climate change during rapid hurricane intensification.
A 2025 Climate Central analysis projected that unusually warm ocean temperatures combined with broader tropical climate warming increased Hurricane Melissa's top wind speed by about 10 mph and raised its potential damages by up to 50%.
October 27, 2025
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Projection estimating the influence of anomalously warm ocean temperatures and tropical warming on storm intensity and damages.
In 2025, there were four 50+ knot rapid intensification events—Hurricanes Gabrielle, Humberto, Erin, and Melissa—tying 2025 with 2020, 2005, and 2008 for the most 50+ knot rapid intensification events in a single year, according to meteorologist Kieran Bhatia.
October 26, 2025
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Count of rapid intensification events in a calendar year based on a 50+ knot threshold.