Stunning video captures inside of ‘monstrous’ eye of Hurricane Melissa as it heads to Jamaica | WATCH
&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "Stunning video captures inside of ‘monstrous’ eye of Hurricane Melissa as it heads to Jamaica | WATCH")
Screengrab from video. Photograph: (DVIDS)
The storm is the second-strongest one in terms of wind speed in the history of the Atlantic, trailing behind Hurricane Allen from 1980, which had a wind speed of 190 mph.
A US Air Force Reserve crew called the “Hurricane Hunters” on Monday (Oct 27) flew through the eye of the ‘monstrous’ Hurricane Melissa, a Category 5 storm that has been dubbed the storm of the century. The hurricane has already started to wreak havoc in the Caribbean, claiming three lives in Jamaica ahead of its landfall. The stunning manoeuvre by the aircraft was conducted to collect crucial data for the National Hurricane Center (NHC). The video has gone viral on social media, showing the eerie calm eye of the storm surrounded by walls of thick, massive clouds.
Melissa is the world’s strongest storm of 2025 with maximum sustained winds of 185 mph (295 kmh). The hurricane’s eyewall, which has the strongest winds in the storm, has already started to move into Jamaica, bringing strong winds and high waves along the coast. It is expected to then move across eastern Cuba and the Bahamas.
In its latest update, the NHC warned Jamaicans that this is the “last chance” to protect their lives as the island nation braces for “catastrophic winds” of the Category 5 storm. It also warned that the storm is continuing to strengthen. The storm could bring heavy rainfall of as much as 75 centimetres (around 30 feet) in central parts of Jamaica over the next two days, according to the latest forecast.
The storm is the second-strongest one in terms of wind speed in the history of the Atlantic, trailing behind Hurricane Allen from 1980, which had a wind speed of 190 mph.
“Last chance to protect your life. This is an extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation! Take cover now!” NHC said.
“To protect yourself from wind, the best thing you can do is put as many walls as possible between you and the outside. An interior room without windows, ideally one where you can also avoid falling trees, is the safest place you can be in a building. You can cover yourself with a mattress and wear a helmet for added protection,” it advised.
