As the hurricane season comes to a close, a new hurricane brews in the Gulf of Mexico and heads straight towards Jamaica. It’s Hurricane Melissa, which started off as a category one storm but has progressed into a category five. Hurricanes come and go; it’s a common occurrence during this time of the year. However, Hurricane Melissa is special because of its record wind speeds. It reaches beyond the strength of Hurricane Katrina, a category five hurricane which devastated the area of New Orleans, with speeds of up to 185 mph winds, and catastrophic rainfall. CNN said it has been one of the strongest hurricanes on Earth in recorded history. 

Ethan Buday, a Senior at OHS, has taken an interest in the hurricane and has researched and kept track of the hurricane’s path and what can happen to Jamaica when it hits. 

“Perhaps the first thing I noticed about this hurricane was how much rain it was going to dump. The forecast from the NHC indicated that parts of Jamaica could receive up to 40 inches of rain, and the second was how slow it moved. I noticed on the NHC advisories that Melissa was moving slower than a person walking most of the time (at around 3 mph). I honestly thought the hurricane was going to weaken from Category 5 status before it made landfall, because it almost hovered south of Jamaica for a while,” Budy said. 

At first, people weren’t concerned, as tropical storms and hurricanes are common. Even though Jamaica hasn’t had many hurricanes, it wasn’t as severe as it seemed to be a low-grade hurricane. However, the storm began to intensify and gain strength. And advisories began to be sent out, sharing concerns surrounding the hurricane, specifically its impact on Jamaica. 

“…when it first reached its peak strength, I was genuinely shocked at how low its pressure had dropped to. Since it was super close to Jamaica at the time, I knew that it didn’t have enough time to weaken to anything short of a historical event,” said Buday. 

As previously mentioned, this isn’t a common occurrence in Jamaica. As a result, people refuse to evacuate, but this is dangerous. Nonetheless, hurricanes are dangerous, and warnings should be taken seriously as they can result in tragedy. The hurricane’s weather can cause flooding, electricity loss, and property damage.

“When I was in a really bad hurricane where the roofs were ripped off my house. It was scary for me and my family, who were in Ohio at the time,” Jasmine Ross’ mother said. This is an example of what intense hurricanes can do; currently, in Jamaica, people are dealing with these issues as well. The strong winds have destroyed buildings, homes, and businesses. 

“I was in a hurricane during my first few years of moving to Florida. It was a little scary at first… It was so windy that you could hear the wind… the power even went out,” Jasmine Ross, Sophomore at OHS, said.

In general, hurricanes can be scary for people. Even if certain people in Jamaica might not have been severely affected by the cyclone, depending on their location, it may have been their first time experiencing something like this. Power outages and strong winds, like those Ross experienced, are scary, and we are waiting to hear about the experiences of people in Jamaica after suchan intenseg and record-breaking hurricane.