Hurricane Melissa came ashore as the strongest recorded storm to strike Jamaica, threatening to be the most destructive of the 2025 season. The storm is expected to hit Cuba overnight.

Melissa crossed into Jamaica with sustained winds of 185 miles (298 kilometers) per hour — making it a rare Category 5 hurricane at landfall. It struck near New Hope on Jamaica’s southern coast, about 25 miles south of Montego Bay, the US National Hurricane Centre said in a statement at 1 p.m. New York time.

The storm is now a Category 3 on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale with robust winds of 125 mph, the hurricane centre said at 8 p.m. Tuesday, New York time. It’s forecast to hit Cuba later as a major hurricane and then move through the Bahamas on Wednesday.

“Damaging winds will continue over portions

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