Hurricane Melissanow a powerful Category 5 stormis barreling towards Jamaica as forecasters warn it could be the strongest hurricane to hit the island in modern history. But as 155-mile-per-hour winds draw global attention, experts say Melissa’s slow pace could be even more catastrophic.
According to the National Hurricane Center (NHC) The storm began to rapidly intensify over the weekend and is expected to make landfall early Tuesday morning.
The slow movement through the Caribbean is expected to prolong exposure to high winds, heavy rain and life-threatening flooding. Melissa could dump up to 3 feet of rainfall on parts of Jamaica; a level that could wash out even large SUVs and trucks, according to the National Weather Service.
“There is no infrastructure in the region that can withstand a Category 5,” Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness said at a news conference on Monday, adding that residents in vulnerable areas have been relocated and emergency teams are on standby.
Meteorologists emphasize that the danger lies as much in the strength of the storm as in its speed – or lack thereof. “If you have a very slow-moving hurricane, it essentially means that a particular location is going to experience all those hurricane-force impacts over an extended period of time,” said Deanna Hence, a professor of meteorology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. “Unfortunately, it looks like Jamaica is going to get the most intense part.”
Melissa’s slow forward motion draws comparisons to 2017’s Hurricane Harvey, which lingered over Texas and unleashed more than 60 inches of rain, resulting in at least 89 deaths. Experts warn that similar conditions could arise in Jamaica, where mountainous terrain could accelerate runoff, causing flash floods and landslides.
The NHC predicts heavy rainfall in eastern Cuba later this week – up to 50 centimeters – and even up to 20 centimeters in the southeastern Bahamas. Parts of southwestern Haiti and the southern Dominican Republic are also at risk.
Although the United States is not expected to be directly affected, scientists warn that climate change is making such powerful and slow-moving storms more common. “The atmosphere holds more moisture, and storms move more slowly,” Hence noted. “That combination makes hurricanes like Melissa much more dangerous.”
For Jamaica and its neighbors, Melissa’s slow march is a stark reminder that in the age of climate change, the speed of a storm can be as destructive as its strength.
