TALLAHASSEE, FL. — Hurricane Melissa will be the strongest storm to make landfall in Jamaica in recorded history, with sustained winds of 175 mph. The last major hurricane to strike this Caribbean island was Hurricane Gilbert in 1988, near Kingston.
Wave heights will likely reach 25 feet along the coastline that Melissa will make landfall across. On the other side of the island, they approached 15 feet.
The strongest winds around the eye (the eyewall) are likely to track across the western half of the island, closer to Montego Bay than Kingston.
Melissa is expected to weaken as it moves across Jamaica before making landfall in the eastern half of Cuba as a Category 4 hurricane. Then it heads for the Bahamas as a Category 3.
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