Cyclone the storm Gains Power As It Barrels Towards the Island Nation
Cyclone Melissa is predicted to escalate to a rare Category 5 hurricane as it shifts in the direction of Jamaica, bringing life-threatening flash flooding and mudslides.
The hurricane, which registered winds of up to 195 km/h as of 6:00 AM GMT, is now shifting northwest in the Caribbean and is expected to hit the coast by midweek, as reported by weather experts.
Warnings of blackouts and damage to infrastructure have been announced as this storm produces up to thirty inches of rain and sea level surges as high as 13ft above typical tides. "Seek shelter now," residents have been urged.
Melissa is the 13th named storm in this year's Atlantic storm period, which normally finishes in the eleventh month.
Highest-Level Hurricane Risk
A category five storm is the most powerful category, with wind speeds of at least 157 miles per hour.
Even though this storm is expected to reduce in intensity to a category four storm before arriving at Jamaica, authorities said there was "very little practical difference in the overall impacts" upon landfall, and that the cyclone will be "just as powerful" when it strikes the country.
Urgent Preparations
With storm-force gusts and precipitation already expected well before it crosses central Jamaica - including potentially the national capital - advisories state that "readiness efforts must be accelerated".
"An extended timeframe of damaging winds and torrential rain has started and will cause devastating and dangerous sudden floods and many mudslides," counseled meteorological officials.
The nation's leader Andrew Holness commented: "I realize that there are numerous residents who are worried, who are very concerned, and appropriately: you should be concerned.
"However the optimal approach to handle anxiety and any nervousness and worry is to remain prepared."
Residents are being told to fortify their houses with sandbags and plywood sheets, and to gather basic necessities.
Wider Consequences
Advisories are also in effect for regions of the neighboring country encompassing the main city, Port au Prince, the Dominican Republic and Cuba's eastern region, where the hurricane is projected to bring comparable impacts by the middle portion of the coming week.
Rock slides presently generated by the hurricane have already killed two in Haiti, according to local authorities.
Expected Trajectory
This weather system is projected to pass over Cuba by the middle of the week before passing across the Greater Antilles and out into the open ocean.
By the point it arrives at the Caribbean nation, it is forecast to have reduced to a category three hurricane.
Climate Connection
Even though it is hard to connect individual weather events to environmental shifts, experts say it is resulting in weather phenomena increasingly frequent and more intense.
Warmer oceans produce additional humidity in the air, helping fuel the development of tropical cyclones.
Prior to the beginning of this year's Atlantic storm period, climate agencies projected above-normal activity, referencing heated marine conditions and possible enhanced seasonal rains around African coastal regions - where tropical systems typically originate.
