Melissa is the most powerful hurricane to make landfall in 90 years—AFP
PARIS, France (AFP)—Melissa tied the 1935 record for the most intense hurricane to make landfall when it battered Jamaica on Tuesday, according to an AFP analysis of meteorological data from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
The Labor Day Hurricane devastated the Florida Keys 90 years ago with winds approaching 300 kilometers (185 miles) an hour and an atmospheric pressure of 892 millibars — a record combination equalled by Melissa, according to the data.
Hurricanes are tropical storms that form in the North Atlantic and Northeast Pacific.
Including typhoons (Northwest Pacific) and cyclones (Indian and South Pacific), only Tropical Storm Goni had stronger winds and lower pressure than Melissa when it arrived close to the Philippines coastline in 2020.
However, NOAA data does not specify whether Goni maintained this intensity at the exact moment it struck the archipelago.
Hurricane Patricia, which formed in the Pacific before hitting Mexico in October 2015, holds the absolute record for the strongest winds, at 343 kph (213 mph), tied with Typhoon Nancy in 1961, according to NOAA data going back to 1842.
But these records were set in the open ocean, and both storms made landfall at a lower intensity.
Typhoon Mawar, in 2023, recorded more intense wind speeds and pressure than Melissa, but also while out to sea.
Mawar’s pressure dropped to 891 mb and had sustained winds (the average wind speed over one minute) of more than 305 kph (189 mph).
Dorian, which formed in the Atlantic in 2019, struck the Bahamas with winds comparable to Melissa and Labor Day, but its pressure was higher, indicating a less intense event.
The same was true of Gilbert when it swept through Jamaica in 1988, causing 40 deaths and enormous material damage.
Melissa is the fifth Category 5 tropical storm of 2025, and surpassed Typhoon Ragasa, which struck East Asia in September, in intensity.
Ragasa had peak winds of 267 kph (166 mph) and a minimum pressure of 910 mb.
Melissa was downgraded to Category 3 after hitting Jamaica and heading towards Cuba.
According to scientists, climate change is causing more frequent and intense extreme weather events worldwide.
