Hurricanes, also known as typhoons in the eastern hemisphere, are one of the most potent phenomena on planet Earth. These powerful storms bring damaging winds, torrential rain, and deadly storm surge flooding to anything and everything in their path. Hurricanes are so powerful that they release as much energy as a 10-megaton nuclear bomb every 20 minutes.
And then there is Hurricane Melissa. With humble beginnings as a thunderstorm complex near the African coast, the storm moved west as part of a midtropospheric wave. As it crossed the Atlantic Ocean, it organized and gathered energy from the heat content of the ocean. With low wind shear to disrupt the rising of warm, humid air, and enough proximity to Earth’s equator to initiate rotation, all this system needed was more fuel. And plenty of it was found in the Caribbean Sea
Hurricane formation requires warm water—at least 26°C (78.8°F). Temperatures above this level can further amplify and strengthen hurricanes. The storm system ultimately reached the Caribbean Sea where sea surface temperatures were exceeding 30°C (86°F). These temperatures encouraged the rapid intensification that turned the tropical storm into a hurricane that quickly reached Category 5 status. The map above uses sea surface temperature data from the Group for High Resolution Sea Surface Temperature (GHRSST), storm track information from the National Hurricane Center, and imagery from NOAA’s Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES).
Hurricane Melissa made landfall in southwestern Jamaica on October 28. The storm was at the peak of its intensity. More than 50 fatalities and extensive infrastructure damage followed as the hurricane made its way to Cuba. Hurricane Melissa became the strongest tropical cyclone of 2025, tying the 1935 Labor Day hurricane with the lowest recorded pressure in the Atlantic. It was also the strongest hurricane to ever make landfall in Jamaica, and had the second highest one-minute sustained wind speeds of an Atlantic hurricane.
