Melissa projected to hit Jamaica as powerful major hurricane

 

As Jamaica braces for the arrival of powerful Hurricane Melissa, Principal Director of the Meteorological Service, Evan Thompson, says forecasters are still undecided as to where the system will make landfall. 

 

According to Mr. Thompson, on its current track, the system could make landfall in Westmoreland.

 

"Right now, the projected path takes it to the southwestern part of Jamaica, impacting either eastern Westmoreland or extreme western St. Elizabeth, as it makes its entry, its landfall on Jamaica. Then it's expected to continue moving to the northeast, all at this time it is expected to be a major hurricane. Right now, at Category 5, it's quite likely that it will drop in terms of the strength of the system slightly to a Category 4 before it makes the landfall. But still let us prepare ourselves for a Category 5 hurricane, if you can actually prepare for a Category 5 hurricane."

 

Mr. Thompson said the hurricane is then expected to move over the southwestern part of the island, moving toward the northeast. 

 

"We expect that the exit will be just about in the vicinity of St. Ann, along the coast of St. Ann, which means it is not going directly north, but somewhat east of north. So making its entry near the border of Westmoreland and St. Elizabeth at this time, that's the projection. And then moving across sections of Trelawny and St. James in the interior of the island, through the Cockpit Country probably, and then moving along to the coast of St. Ann. So that's the projected path," he advised. 

 

He warned that there will be widespread flooding across the island in the coming days. 

 

"Of course, we expect that you will have a lot of flooding from this, and you can see on the picture that all of the island will experience even up to 20 inches of rainfall over sections of your area. So if you are in a flood-prone area anywhere across the country, you can expect that flooding is going to occur, as long as the system moves in the direction that is projected."

 

Mr. Thompson was speaking Monday morning at a special media briefing from the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management.

 

In the latest bulletin from the Met Service, a Hurricane Warning remains in effect for Jamaica as powerful Hurricane Melissa continues westward over the Caribbean Sea, south of the island, and is expected to turn northward. 

 

At 10 a.m., the centre of Hurricane Melissa was located near Latitude 16.4 degrees north, and longitude 78.2 degrees west. This is 230 kilometers or 145 miles southwest of Kingston, or 200 kilometres or 104 miles south of Bluefields in Westmoreland, Jamaica. 

 

Melissa is moving toward the west, near 6 km per hour or 3 miles per hour.

 

A slow turn toward the northwest and north is expected Monday and Monday night, followed by a further turn to the northeast at a fast-forward Tuesday.

 

On the forecast track, the core of Melissa is expected to start moving over Jamaica Monday night and early Tuesday. Maximum sustained winds are near 270 kilometres per hour or 165 miles per hour with higher gusts. 

 

Melissa is a Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Some additional strength is forecast on Monday, with some fluctuations in intensity likely before Melissa makes landfall on southwestern Jamaica as an extremely powerful major hurricane on Tuesday.