Air Force Videos Capture the Eye of Hurricane Melissa as Catastrophic Storm Hits Jamaica

Melissa, now a Category 5 hurricane, made landfall in Jamaica this afternoon as the strongest storm in the nation’s recorded history. At 1:00 p.m. ET, the storm was hammering the island with 185-mile-per-hour (295-kilometer-per-hour) winds and torrential rain as its eye moved over the southwestern coast, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC).

On Monday, the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron—a team of U.S. Air Force hurricane hunters—flew into this historic storm to collect data for the NHC. The pilots captured astounding photos and videos of Melissa’s eyewall—a towering ring of thunderstorms that swirls around the eye of a hurricane—before severe turbulence forced them to turn back.

The imagery speaks to the extraordinary power of this hurricane. Melissa has already created a life-threatening situation in Jamaica, triggering floods and storm surge and raising the risk of landslides. The next several hours will be critical as the hurricane passes over the island, with forecasters predicting catastrophic damage.

Once the storm exits the Caribbean, it should track up and along the East Coast, remaining far offshore. Forecasters do not expect the hurricane to make landfall in the U.S.

A storm too powerful for hurricane hunters

According to an NHC statement issued late Monday morning, the hurricane hunters “left the storm early after experiencing severe turbulence in the southwestern eyewall.” A second attempt to fly inside the storm Tuesday morning was also cut short. As of 11 a.m. ET, the squadron was returning to its base in Curacao, according to an X post.

A thread of videos from today’s flight into Hurricane Melissa

In this first one we are entering from the southeast just after sunrise and the bright arc on the far northwest eye wall is the light just beginning to make it over the top from behind us. pic.twitter.com/qGdpp7lbCN

— Tropical Cowboy of Danger (@FlynonymousWX) October 27, 2025

Still, the team managed to gather critical data on Melissa’s strength and formation. The NHC issued a forecast statement at 11 a.m. ET, with reports from the aircraft indicating that the storm had intensified since the last advisory.

The pressure inside its 15-mile-wide (24-kilometer-wide) eye had fallen to near 892 millibars, and the maximum sustained wind had reached 184 miles per hour (215 kilometers per hour). NHC forecasters expect Melissa’s winds to cause “total structural failure” near the path of its center.

“Catastrophic flash flooding, landslides, and destructive winds are expected across the remainder of the island causing widespread infrastructure damage, power and communication outages, and isolated communities,” the statement reads. “Along the southern coast, life-threatening storm surge and damaging waves are expected through the day.”

An unprecedented landfall

Melissa is the fourth storm of the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season to undergo rapid intensification—when a storm’s maximum sustained wind speed increases 35 mph (56 kph) in a 24-hour period.

Third pass through Melissa. GoPro in side window as different camera looking forward shooting in ultra high res 8k. Not sure when that might get processed as the file turned out ridiculous. Barely had HD space for it and MacBook Pro promptly chocked when I tried to edit it pic.twitter.com/3p430gPvZv

— Tropical Cowboy of Danger (@FlynonymousWX) October 27, 2025

Climate change is increasing the likelihood of this dangerous phenomenon as ocean surface temperatures warm, providing more heat to fuel hurricane formation and strengthening. Melissa encountered exceptionally warm waters and low wind shear in the central Caribbean Sea on Saturday, causing it to explode from a tropical storm to a Category 4 hurricane by early Sunday.

The storm reached Category 5 status early Monday morning and has been strengthening ever since. It is now the fifth-strongest hurricane on record in the Atlantic Ocean. After it passes over Jamaica, forecasters expect it to make landfall in Cuba and the Lucayan Archipelago—a chain of islands that includes the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos—on Wednesday.

“Melissa should weaken over Jamaica as the inner core gets disrupted by the mountainous terrain,” the NHC states. “However, the cyclone should maintain major hurricane status until the center reaches eastern Cuba.”

Due to anticipated power outages and infrastructure damage, it will likely be some time before officials can report the full scale of destruction and potential loss of life following the hurricane’s landfall in Jamaica. The NHC is currently advising residents to take cover immediately.

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