Image source, Reuters

Hurricane Melissa has made landfall in Jamaica as a category five storm, bringing catastrophic winds and risks of flash flooding across the Caribbean island.

It is now the most powerful storm recorded this year and among the strongest in the Atlantic since records began. Here's what else you need to know:

• Melissa made landfall in south-western Jamaica near the town of New Hope with wind speeds of 185 mph (295 km/h), the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said
• The storm presents "an extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation", the NHC added, as it later warned that "catastrophic winds, flash flooding and storm surges" are expected across the island
• Jamaican authorities have urged residents and visitors to continue sheltering in place as the storm passes over the island - nearly a third of the country is already without power
• Minister of Local Government, Desmond McKenzie, issued a strong warning shortly before landfall: "Don't bet against Melissa - it is a bet we can't win"
• After passing over Jamaica, Melissa is expected to head towards Cuba before making its way across the Bahamas later on Wednesday

Helen Willetts
BBC Weather

As a hurricane forms, the air rotates around its centre and warm moist air rises, leaving a gap in the middle, with surrounding air rushing in to fill this space. This process continually repeats while the storm is over the ocean.

If the wind doesn't change too much, this means the storm will continue to grow in magnitude and strength.

And as the storm grows, more air leaves the centre of the hurricane than can be replaced - which causes the pressure inside to drop. This ultimately makes the storm even stronger by increasing the wind strength.

In fact, how strong a hurricane becomes is measured by its central pressure and maximum wind strength.

According to the US National Hurricane Centre, Melissa had maximum sustained winds of about 185 miles per hour and an estimated minimum central pressure of 892 millibars at landfall, making it one of the most powerful storms to ever make landfall in the Atlantic Ocean.

Alex Emery
BBC News

A university lecturer in Kingston, Jamaica, says the wind is now picking up near his home, where he is staying with his wife and three children.

"It has been raining and windy in some areas, with the occasional lull," Louis-Ray Harris, a senior lecturer in the Department of Physics at the University of the West Indies, tells me.

"We just lost power and the wind has picked up significantly."

Dave Griffiths, who works in HR and lives in Gloucester, is visiting Jamaica with his wife and children.

The group are in lockdown at their hotel in Lucea, on the island's north-west side, and they expect to stay there for the rest of the day.

Griffiths says he's "wide awake listening to the storm strengthening outside the windows of my hotel room", adding that he's lucky to feel "safe and secure" there.

Looking ahead, he says his biggest concern is the devastation that's predicted to happen across Jamaica in the coming hours.

"I feel so sad for the people that live here - we’ve had a disrupted holiday only," Griffiths says. "Their lives are likely to literally be turned upside down.”

We can now bring you the latest update from the US National Hurricane Center, which says the maximum sustained winds have now eased to 165mph (270 km/h).

This comes after the hurricane made landfall with wind speeds of 185 mph (295 km/h).

It further warns that "catastrophic winds, flash flooding and storm surges" are expected across Jamaica.

"Catastrophic flash flooding and numerous landslides are likely," the NHC says, as well as "total structural failure" for buildings on the island near its path.

This announcement repeats earlier warnings - that residents should stay inside and seek emergency shelter - and urges those living in the warning zone of the Bahamas and Cuba to complete any property protection measures as soon as possible.

How does Melissa compare with other storms?published at 17:59 GMT 28 October

17:59 GMT 28 October

Rachel Hagan
World Service reporter

Image source, Reuters

Hurricane Melissa, now a category five system after making landfall a short while ago, is the strongest on Earth so far this year.

It ranks as one of the strongest storms in the Atlantic this century.

For Jamaicans, the comparisons with past storms are chilling.

Gilbert in 1988, the last direct hit, was a category four. It destroyed thousands of homes and killed 49 people. Dean in 2007 and Beryl in 2024 came close, but neither matched Melissa's raw power.

Globally, Melissa ranks among the most powerful cyclones ever observed - just behind Mexico's Hurricane Patricia in 2015 and the record-holding Typhoon Tip of 1979.

Earlier today, the storm had an air pressure in its centre of 901 millibars (mb), just ahead of Hurricane Katrina, which reached 902mb.

Katrina, which hit New Orleans in 2005, killed 1,392 people and caused damage estimated at $125bn (£94bn).

Melissa has set itself apart for how quickly it grew. The storm intensified from a tropical system to a category five hurricane in just a day, fuelled by exceptionally warm waters in the Caribbean (as my colleague explained a bit earlier), around two to three degrees above normal.

Helen Willetts
BBC Weather

One of the main reasons Melissa has become a category five hurricane - an extremely dangerous storm, which forecasters warn could cause catastrophic flooding - is because it has been sitting over its fuel source, the warm ocean, for almost a week.

The Caribbean Sea is currently warmer than average by a couple of degrees, which has fuelled this hurricane even more.

We haven't seen many big storms in the Atlantic so far this season, meaning the warm air and energy in this ocean region has not been depleted or used up in previous storms - leaving more fuel for Melissa.

And of course with climate change, we can expect warmer conditions - which lead to more extreme weather events.

• As a reminder, as my colleague pointed out earlier, while the direct link between Hurricane Melissa and a warmer environment may be studied after the event, it is likely that it has been made wetter and windier by human-induced climate change

Hurricane Melissa has just made landfall in Jamaica as a category five hurricane, meaning the storm's eye has crossed over Jamaica's coastline and is now above the island.

Here's a look at where things stand now on the island as the storm picks up.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Rozina Sini
BBC News

Shelley Jackson lives in Montego Bay - she tells us there's "significantly more wind and rain" today - and that the petrol station opposite where she lives has "lost some of its roof" due to "gusts of constant wind".

“I’m here with my neighbour and we are hunkering down," she says, adding the pair have provisions including canned food, propane and gas tanks for a stove.

Shelley says when she first heard about the storm, "it didn’t bother me because we've had storms before" - but she adds that by the time she realised the severity of the situation "it was a bit late".

The statement from the National Hurricane Center, external repeats a lot of what we've heard already throughout the day.

It says the storm is "extremely dangerous and life-threatening".

Citizens are urged not to leave their shelter as the eye passes through the country. This is because "winds will quickly, and rapidly increase" again on the other side of the eye, the NHC says.

Hurricane Melissa has made landfall with an estimated maximum sustained wind speed of 185 mph (295 km/h), the US National Hurricane Center says.

This means it's still a category five hurricane.

Hurricane Melissa makes landfall in south-western Jamaica, near New Hope, the National Hurricane Center says.

We'll bring you more on this as soon as we have it.

Rozina Sini
BBC News

Rebecca Allen is in Southfield, Jamaica, on the south of the island.

“It is incredibly rough here. Lots of things are flying around, the wind speeds are incredible," she says, adding they have done as much as they can to prepare for the storm.

"My community was devastated by Hurricane Beryl last year," she tells me. In July 2024, when that category four storm swept the island, it brought more than 12 hours of heavy rain.

Allen says this time around, her family is better prepared, but notes that this storm - a category five - is more than "anything we've experienced".

"We've tried our best, that's all I can say."

Alex Emery
BBC News

Image source, Shaquille Clarke

In the next few posts, we're going to bring you the voices from people in Jamaica who have been sharing what things are like on the island as they prepare for Hurricane Melissa to make landfall. First, we hear from a hotel worker on the island:

Shaquille Clarke, who works at a hotel in Negril, on the west of the island, says the winds are “picking up” where he is and the ocean is getting rough.

Trees are starting to fall, he says, adding: “I am concerned for people who are not moved to a safe space."

Clarke says he's feeling "a little worried", but he's also been through a few hurricanes before. "I'm just hoping for the best," he says.

Hurricane Melissa is now 30 miles (55km) away from Negril, a town located on Jamaica's west, the US National Hurricane Center says.

It's expected to make landfall soon. When it does, Jamaica could get as much as 30 inches of rain (76cm) and winds of 175mph (282km/h).

It's forecast to move towards Cuba on Tuesday evening (00:00 GMT) as a category four storm, before continuing towards the Bahamas on Wednesday - by then, it'll have weakened to a category two.

Earlier, the World Meteorological Organization warned that the storm could bring "catastrophic flash flooding and landslides".

The organisation's tropical cyclone specialist, Anne-Claire Fontan, told a press briefing: "for Jamaica, it will be the storm of the century for sure."

Image source, Reuters

It's hard to offer practical advice for residents who are stuck in a category five storm, Jamaican officials said earlier, but there are essential things residents can do while they still have time.

Richard Thompson, acting general of Jamaica's Office of Disaster Preparedness, gave his tips:

• Bring items from outside the home inside, he said, adding that a lot of those items could become "missiles" in high winds
• Secure your animals, he added
• If you are inside, stay away from the outer walls of your home
• Stay downstairs if you have a two storey house
• Get into a shelter now if you can. Search and rescue teams are out there, but "we can't do search and rescue in the height of a system", he said
• Keep away from the coastline, ravines and low-lying areas, he said, reiterating calls that have been repeated all day

Gabriela Pomeroy
Live reporter

I have spoken by phone to Kabien, who runs a beauty salon in Santa Cruz in St Elizabeth, where Hurricane Melissa is expected to make landfall and residents have been warned to take shelter.

But she tells me she cannot make it to a shelter because it is too far away and she feels now "it is too dangerous to leave the house".

As we spoke, I could hear the wind in the background and the panic in her voice.

"There is water coming in through the roof of my house," she says. "I am not okay."

She is home with her husband and three young children - all of whom are "very, very scared".

"The doors are being blown off by the wind - I am trying to use my own manpower to stop the wind blowing in the door. The wind is pushing the front door open."

Image source, Reuters

We have recently finished hearing from Jamaica's National Emergency Operation Centre, which will be their last briefing until Hurricane Melissa passes.

Let's recap some of the key points covered in the press conference:

• The hurricane is still some distance away, but is speeding up. The eye of the storm is expected to make landfall at around midday local time (17:00 GMT)
• The storm is expected to be category five when it hits land, before weakening to category four as it crosses the island
• A storm surge is expected to hit certain bays and inlets, rising to 13ft (4m) in some areas - the equivalent of around two storeys
• Widespread power cuts are already impacting the island, with more than 200,000 without electricity. Most hospitals still have a supply, but not all
• Emergency relief flights could begin as early as Thursday - but authorities repeatedly stressed that the window to double down on safety measures is closing. "Don't bet against Melissa," warned minister Desmond McKenzie, "it is a bet we can't win"

Officials are taking questions from gathered reporters.

Evan Thompson is asked what conditions Jamaicans can expect from the eye of the hurricane.

He explains that the eye itself is a calm area in the centre of the storm where "it'll appear as if it's all done".

It extends a few miles in diameter, where there'll be "very little cloud cover and very little wind".

But just before the eye is the eye wall, where Thompson says "you will have the most intense wind speeds and the most torrential downpours".

After the eye, it will come back once again with winds coming from the opposite direction. The eye wall winds could reach about 185 miles per hour, he says.

"You have to prepare yourself for that," he says.

He also warns citizens to watch out for tornadoes which can be spawned during hurricanes, and says it could be a few days before the weather clears over the island.

As she brings the news conference to a close, Education Secretary Dana Morris Dixon urges Jamaicans to stay safe and says the gathered officials must leave to assess the storm as "we are already seeing flooding in St Elizabeth".

This news conference from Jamaican authorities on Hurricane Melissa has ended. This will be their last briefing until the storm passes We will continue to bring you updates as the hurricane approaches landfall, so stick with us.

Jamaica's Minister of Local Government, Desmond McKenzie, has just given an update on the disaster response taking place on the island.

He says in total, there are almost 6,000 in shelters in place. Those in St Elizabeth and Westmoreland - where Hurricane Melissa is expected to make landfall - should take emergency shelter.

This is the last briefing authorities will be able to give, he says, but there is still a small window of opportunity to double down on safety measures and get to a shelter.

Addressing the nation directly, he then says: "this is not the time to be brave."

He concludes his comments with a stark warning: "don't bet against Melissa - it is a bet we can't win."

Image source, Jamaica Information Services

Vaz says plans are already being made to rebuild affected areas after the storm.

He echoes other Jamaican authorities, who have been warning to take this storm seriously - especially those who live in low-lying areas that will be worst hit.

"You have but a few hours," he says. "Seek to go to higher ground. Protect yourself and be smart."

He then ends his remarks.