safety steps

𝗝𝗢𝗜𝗡 𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧𝗦𝗔𝗣𝗣 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗡𝗘𝗟! 𝗖𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗞 𝗢𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗞: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaN7nmQGOj9na4QhBa12

At 1100 AM EDT (1500 UTC), the center of Hurricane Melissa was located near latitude 16.4 North, longitude 78.2 West.

Melissa is moving toward the west near 3 mph (6 km/h). A slow turn toward the northwest and north is expected later today, followed by a turn toward the northeast and a faster forward speed on Tuesday.

A northeastward motion is expected on Wednesday and Thursday. On the forecast track, the core of Melissa is expected to move over Jamaica tonight and early Tuesday, across southeastern Cuba Tuesday night, and across the southeastern Bahamas on Wednesday.

Maximum sustained winds are near 165 mph (270 km/h) with higher gusts. Melissa is a category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Some fluctuations in intensity are likely before Melissa makes landfall on Jamaica on Tuesday.

However, Melissa is expected to reach Jamaica and southeastern Cuba as an extremely powerful major hurricane, and will still be at hurricane strength when it moves across the southeastern Bahamas.

Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 30 miles (45 km) from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 195 miles (315 km).

The minimum central pressure estimated from the latest Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter aircraft data is 908 mb (26.82 inches).