Hurricane Melissa tore a path of destruction across Jamaica.
Hurricane Melissa tore a path of destruction across Jamaica after the storm made landfall on Tuesday as a Category 5 hurricane, one of the most powerful landfalls on record in the Atlantic basin.
After lashing Jamaica with dangerous winds and flooding rain, Melissa made a second landfall in Cuba as a Category 3 hurricane on Wednesday morning. Melissa then moved through the Bahamas, and next, on Thursday night, the storm will pass Bermuda as a Category 1 or 2 hurricane.
A U.S. Air Force Reserve crew, known as the "Hurricane Hunters," flew through the eye of Hurricane Melissa on Monday.
Lt. Col. Mark Withee captured the crew making multiple passes through the storm. The Hurricane Hunters' mission is to collect critical weather data for the National Hurricane Center.
With 175 mph sustained winds, Hurricane Melissa has the strongest tropical cyclone winds on Earth in 2025.
Melissa is forecast to maintain its strength and make landfall as a Category 4 or Category 5 hurricane in Jamaica on Tuesday morning.
-ABC News’ Melissa Griffin
Several cruises in the Caribbean have been impacted by Hurricane Melissa.
Carnival has changed the itineraries for its Carnival Liberty, Carnival Celebration, Carnival Dream, Carnival Sunrise and Carnival Vista ships. Carnival said its Fleet Operations Center in Miami is closely monitoring the forecast.
Margaritaville at Sea is changing the itinerary of the Islander to avoid the storm, while Celebrity Beyond and Icon of the Seas will sail to the western Caribbean instead of the eastern Caribbean.
The Disney Treasure and the Disney Wish also have revised itineraries to avoid the hurricane.
-ABC News' Clara McMichael
The U.S. Embassy in Jamaica issued an alert on Monday warning Americans in the area to prepare to shelter in place.
The three international airports in Jamaica -- Kingston’s Norman Manley International Airport, Ian Fleming International Airport in Ocho Rios and Montego Bay’s Sangster International Airport -- are closed.
“This is a dangerous storm,” the alert said. “Catastrophic flash flooding and numerous landslides are likely.”
The U.S. Embassy in Havana said in a bulletin that Americans in Cuba should "decide whether to leave now or be prepared to shelter in place."
-ABC News’ Mariam Khan
