Hurricane Melissa: From Formation To Devastation

Hurricane Melissa tied an all-time Atlantic Basin wind record and smashed one other wind record in addition to its record strong landfall, a just-released report found.

Melissa's strongest maximum sustained winds were found to have reached 190 mph, tying 1980's Hurricane Allen for the strongest sustained winds on record for any Atlantic Basin hurricane. This is according to the final report, released Wednesday by the National Hurricane Center, on Melissa's life cycle from October 21-31, 2025.

This slight upward adjustment in Melissa's peak winds was based on a thorough reexamination of all available data, including from Hurricane Hunter missions and intensity estimates by satellite.

Weather in your inbox

Forecast Location

Sign Up

By signing up you agree to the Terms & Privacy Policy. Unsubscribe at any time.

(MORE: Hurricane Melissa Recap)

These small post-season adjustments in hurricane and tropical storm intensities happen occasionally when NHC scientists take a closer look at each storm after hurricane season.

Melissa already tied for the strongest Atlantic Basin landfalling hurricane by wind speed — 185 mph — with both 2019's Hurricane Dorian and the 1935 Labor Day hurricane.

By pressure, Melissa at peak strength tied for the third lowest pressure in the Atlantic Basin — 892 millibars — with the 1935 Labor Day hurricane, behind only 1988's Gilbert (888 millibars) and 2005's Wilma (882 millibars).

(MORE: The History Of Category 5 Atlantic Hurricanes)

Other Report Findings

252 mph

One instrument used by Hurricane Hunter missions to take measurements in a hurricane known as a dropsonde measured a peak gust of 252 mph just above the surface in Melissa. According to the National Hurricane Center, that's the highest wind gust recorded by a dropsonde, topping the previous dropsonde record from 2010's Super Typhoon Megi (240 mph). Dropsondes have been used regularly by Hurricane Hunter missions since 1998.

114 mph

That was the highest reported wind gust in Jamaica at the Hope Primary School before the sensor failed. While that's much lower than the hurricane's intensity at landfall, NHC noted landfall happened in an area with few weather reporting stations.

600

That's the number of lightning flashes per 30 minutes detected by satellite in the eyewall of Melissa just before it made landfall in Jamaica. Lightning in hurricane eyewalls is common, but this was one of the more prolific rates we've seen.

36.77 inches

That was the highest rainfall total from Melissa, measured in Camp Perrin, Haiti. The peak total in Jamaica was 32.17 inches in Knockpatrick, according to the NHC.

7 to 11 feet

This was the estimated peak inundation above normally dry ground from storm surge in southwestern Jamaica at landfall. NHC noted no direct measurements were either taken or survived the storm.

95

At least 95 were killed in the hurricane, 45 of which occurred in Jamaica and 43 others in Haiti, according to the NHC.

Jonathan Erdman is a senior meteorologist at weather.com and has been covering national and international weather since 1996. Extreme and bizarre weather are his favorite topics. Reach out to him on Bluesky, X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook.