Hurricane Melissa Remains on Course for Jamaica Landfall

Hurricane Melissa has begun shifting northwest and remains on track to make landfall in Jamaica early Tuesday morning (October 28) as a powerful Category Five cyclone.

Principal Director of the Meteorological Services Branch in the Ministry of Water, Environment and Climate Change, Evan Thompson, said the hurricane is currently positioned just over 100 miles south of the island.

“What we have facing us is a major Category Five hurricane that is over the waters of the Caribbean Sea, moving closer and closer to the mainland of Jamaica… and has already begun a slight turn toward the northwest,” Mr. Thompson stated.

He was providing an update from the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) on developments related to Hurricane Melissa during a media briefing at the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) in Kingston on Monday (October 27).

The system has maintained a consistent westward trajectory over the past few days, shifting from a position southeast of the island to its current location just south-southwest of Jamaica.

“It is moving, now, to the northwest, which would suggest that it’s going to be moving away. The projection was that it would turn, first to the northwest, and then take a turn toward the north and then to the northeast. It’s making a beeline toward the western part of Jamaica,” Mr. Thompson informed.

Consequently, Hurricane Melissa is expected to make landfall in either the eastern section of Westmoreland or the westernmost section of St. Elizabeth.

Hurricane-force winds are anticipated across sections of Westmoreland and St. Elizabeth, while tropical storm-force winds are likely to impact most, if not all, of the island.

Current forecasts indicate that the system will recurve toward the northeast as it exits the island.

“We expect that it will make its exit… somewhere in the vicinity of Trelawny and St. Ann, as it moves off to the north coast,” Mr. Thompson said