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6d ago

NHC Reanalysis Puts Hurricane Melissa in Tie for Strongest Atlantic Hurricane by Wind Speed

The report also documents a world-record 252 mph dropsonde gust inside the storm.

IN SPACE, CARIBBEAN SEA - OCTOBER 27: (EDITOR'S NOTE: This Handout image was provided by a third-party organization and may not adhere to Getty Images' editorial policy.) In this handout satellite image provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Hurricane Melissa churns northwest through the Caribbean Sea captured at 17:00Z on October 27, 2025. Hurricane Melissa has intensified into a Category 5 storm as it approaches Jamaica, according to the National Hurricane Center. (Photo by NOAA via Getty Images)
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Overview

  • The National Hurricane Center’s final Tropical Cyclone Report upgrades Melissa’s peak 1‑minute sustained winds to 190 mph, tying 1980’s Hurricane Allen for the Atlantic record.
  • Melissa made landfall near New Hope, Jamaica, with estimated sustained winds of about 185 mph, the strongest on record for the island and tied for the Atlantic’s strongest landfall.
  • Aircraft reconnaissance and post‑season analysis of flight‑level, satellite and surface data underpinned the higher peak intensity estimate.
  • A dropsonde measured an instantaneous gust of 252 mph within the eyewall, the highest wind ever recorded by a dropsonde in any tropical cyclone.
  • The report lists at least 95 fatalities across the Caribbean and estimates about $8.8 billion in damage in Jamaica, with extreme rainfall and storm surge compounding the devastation.