Hurricane Melissa is predicted to make landfall in Jamaica on Tuesday morning as a Class 5 storm with 175 mph winds, making it essentially the most highly effective storm within the Atlantic Ocean this yr.
The storm’s churning path is predicted to hit the island at St. Elizabeth parish, a coastal space about 75 miles west of Kingston, the island’s capital. Climate providers say there’s a excessive danger of “catastrophic” harm and lack of life.
And it is not simply Jamaica that will probably be affected by Melissa. Present forecasts predict practically 30 inches of rain to fall on the island and close by in Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, the Bahamas, and Turks and Caicos. And it is attainable that extra islands might really feel the brunt of the huge storm, too, with storm surges that would create important waves all through the week.
This is what it’s essential to know if in case you have plans to journey to Jamaica or the Caribbean this week — and what you are able to do to assist in the storm’s aftermath.
Associated: Prime journey errors to keep away from throughout hurricane season
The place is Hurricane Melissa?
Hurricane Melissa is presently a Class 5 hurricane sitting simply southwest of Jamaica and touring on a northeast trajectory that brings it instantly over Jamaica and principally impacts the northeastern a part of the Caribbean Sea within the Better Antilles. As of Tuesday morning, winds had been reported at 175 mph; a storm is taken into account a Class 5 as soon as winds hit 157 mph. For any landmass in Melissa’s path, there’s anticipated to be wide-ranging, sustained harm.
“The core of Melissa is predicted to make landfall on Jamaica in the course of the subsequent a number of hours, transfer throughout southeastern Cuba Wednesday morning, and transfer throughout the southeastern or central Bahamas afterward Wednesday,” the Nationwide Hurricane Heart stated Tuesday morning.
Final yr, Hurricane Beryl took an identical path over Jamaica as a Class 4 storm and prompted widespread electrical and communications infrastructure harm. That storm headed northwest to the Gulf of Mexico.
Is it protected to journey to the Caribbean?
For the reason that Caribbean is among the largest seas on earth, sprawling throughout over 1 million sq. miles, many areas is not going to really feel a lot of Melissa’s wrath. For instance, islands like Aruba which might be nearer to South America noticed some rain final week because the storm made its means west, but it surely sustained no harm.
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Nevertheless, in case you are planning journey to Jamaica, know that the island is predicted to take a direct hit from a Class 5 hurricane and that expectations are that electrical energy and different infrastructure will probably be offline in consequence for wherever from weeks to months.
“The Authorities of Jamaica issued a Hurricane Warning for the island on October 24, 2025. All individuals are urged to take the required precautions to make sure security throughout this time,” in accordance with the Jamaica Tourism Board’s web site. Go to its Journey Alerts web page for data on emergency providers, flight cancellations and shelter areas.
The Nationwide Hurricane Heart has a number of watches and warnings in impact that stretch to the encompassing space.
Forecasters predict a storm surge of 9 to 13 ft, and the slow-moving storm is predicted to dump practically 3 ft of rain on the island. Along with Haiti and Cuba, that are additionally instantly within the hurricane’s path, close by islands which will additionally really feel this storm surge embrace the southeastern Bahamas and Turks and Caicos. Wave swells that may trigger life-threatening surf and rip present circumstances are anticipated to achieve the Cayman Islands within the subsequent few days, and the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos, and Bermuda later this week.
You probably have a visit to the Caribbean scheduled, you may wish to keep abreast of the developments in your particular vacation spot.
Airport closures and airline waivers
Each of Jamaica’s essential airports closed this previous weekend forward of the storm. Norman Manley Worldwide Airport (KIN) in Kingston closed after its closing flight Saturday, Oct. 25, and Sangster Worldwide Airport (MBJ) in Montego Bay closed noon Sunday, Oct. 26. Neither has posted a predicted reopening date.
Flights are nonetheless working out of Turks and Caicos, which is beneath a hurricane watch. Based on Expertise Turks and Caicos, the nation’s vacation spot advertising group, each American Airways and JetBlue are presently working bigger plane to accommodate individuals who want to go away the islands forward of the storm.
Airways that service Jamaica and different Caribbean islands are providing varied journey waivers. The particulars of every waiver fluctuate, however they typically apply to flights to, from or by way of varied airports in Jamaica and different islands. With the waivers, vacationers can change their flights with out having to pay a fare distinction.
Listed below are a number of airline waiver examples:
- Delta Air Strains: For the Oct. 25-30 journey schedule to/from/by way of Jamaica and Turks and Caicos, journey have to be rebooked by Nov. 2. There is no such thing as a change payment, however passengers might want to pay the distinction in ticketed value for journey after Nov. 2.
- United Airways: For journey scheduled to/from Jamaica and Turks and Caicos from Oct. 25-29 and Bermuda from Oct. 30-Nov. 2, there is no such thing as a change payment or value distinction charged for flights till Nov. 5 (for Jamaica and Turks and Caicos) and Nov. 9 (for Bermuda). (Notice there are not any change charges on United at any time.)
- American Airways: This can be a wider waiver that extends to Turks and Caicos; Jamaica; Cuba; and George City, Bahamas. The change payment will probably be waived for scheduled journey Oct. 25-29, and adjustments have to be booked by Nov. 2.
- JetBlue: Change/cancel charges and fare variations are waived for journey to/from Jamaica from Oct. 25-31; clients might rebook their flights by way of Nov. 8. For flights to/from Turks and Caicos, charges and fare variations are waived for journey from Oct. 28-30, and might be rebooked by way of Nov. 5.
Verify along with your airline for extra particulars if in case you have journey developing this week.
What to do if in case you have a visit booked to Jamaica or the Caribbean
In case you reserved instantly with a lodge, first verify its web site and see if it has posted any updates. It’s also possible to name the lodge instantly or the primary reservations quantity. Remember that many properties are seemingly managing the disaster, so calling the property instantly needs to be a final possibility.
In case you booked by way of a third-party on-line journey company or aggregator like Expedia or Travelocity, it is essential to know the cancellation coverage. The OTA nonetheless owns your reservation previous to your journey; should you contact the lodge instantly, it would seemingly refer you again to the OTA or journey portal for help.
You probably have a cruise deliberate to the Caribbean, verify along with your cruise line about up to date crusing plans.
Associated: Cruising throughout hurricane season: What to know
You probably have already bought journey insurance coverage, then you must have the ability to recoup all your journey bills in case you are touring to an space instantly affected by Hurricane Melissa. As we have reported beforehand, the time to purchase insurance coverage is earlier than a storm is called. As soon as it is already been recognized, it is a “recognized occasion,” and you may now not buy protection for that storm.
How you can assist
If you would like to assist these within the storm’s path, there are a number of choices to discover:
Backside line
Hurricane Melissa is predicted to make landfall in Jamaica on Tuesday morning as an extremely forceful Class 5 hurricane. It can then head northeast within the Caribbean over Cuba and Haiti and have an effect on areas of the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos.
You probably have plans to journey to an space affected by the hurricane, it might be prudent to cancel or delay your plans till later.
For extra useful recommendations on navigating journey throughout hurricane season, learn:
