Hurricane Melissa has caused extreme destruction and a rising death total across the Caribbean as the storm moves towards the Bahamas on Oct. 29.

Hurricane Melissa grew into one of the most powerful Atlantic tropical cyclones in recorded history on Oct. 28, 2025, hitting western Jamaica with 185 mph sustained winds. The Category 5 hurricane blew roofs off buildings and knocked down power lines,

The federal government’s hurricane hunters have continued to fly despite the shutdown. At least two missions — one operated by NOAA on Monday and the second by the Air Force on Tuesday — were aborted when pilots experienced dangerous turbulence passing through the hurricane.

The rapidly intensifying Category 5 storm is threatening the northern Caribbean with torrential rain, deadly flooding and widespread power outages.

Hurricane Hunters were forced to cut short their reconnaissance mission into the Category 5 Hurricane Melissa Monday morning, Oct. 27.

Hurricane Melissa made landfall early Wednesday morning in Cuba as a powerful Category 3 hurricane with winds of 120 mph after slamming Jamaica as one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes on record.

Hurricane Melissa bore down on the Bahamas on Wednesday after cutting a path of destruction through the Caribbean, leaving 30 people dead or missing in Haiti and parts of Jamaica and Cuba in ruins.

Hotter-than-average Caribbean water made Hurricane Melissa stronger and wetter. Its part of a trend that scientists link back to climate change.

The National Hurricane Center is tracking a tropical wave in the central Atlantic which is moving quickly toward the Caribbean. There also is a non-tropical system over the northwestern Atlantic — well away from Florida — that may develop into a tropical or subtropical storm over the next several days, according to AccuWeather.