KINGSTON, JAMAICA – An isolated island in the Caribbean, Jamaica is no stranger to hurricanes. Hurricane Melissa is currently intensifying and inching closer to the Jamaica coast with the potential to cause catastrophic consequences.
FOX Weather Hurricane Specialist Bryan Norcross warned that Hurricane Melissa could be “like no storm Jamaica has encountered in modern times.”
In July 2024, Hurricane Beryl narrowly missed a direct impact on Jamaica, with the center of the storm coasting just 20 miles south of the island as a Category 4 storm.
Packing winds of 140 mph, the destructive effects of Hurricane Beryl downed trees and electrical poles across the island, blocked roadways, destroyed infrastructure and isolated areas on the island, ultimately killing four people on the island by the time the storm passed.
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Before tearing apart the East Coast of the U.S., Hurricane Sandy first made direct landfall in Jamaica in October 2012 as a Category 1 storm, the only named storm to make landfall in Jamaica in the month of October. The direct hit the island took in 2012 was the first storm to make landfall on the island since Hurricane Gilbert, the most deadly and destructive storm in Jamaica’s history.
In September 1988, Hurricane Gilbert made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane, packing winds of 130 mph and bringing significant storm surge on the eastern and southern shores of the island. Gilbert made landfall in Kingston and carved a path west across Jamaica and left a trail of destruction, causing an estimated $2.5 billion in damage.
Jamaica’s history of hurricane strikes includes a number of notable storms that have caused significant damage to the vulnerable Caribbean island. In 2004, hurricanes Ivan and Charley didn’t make landfall on the island but still left a mark on Jamaica, causing an estimated $1.4 billion in damage combined.
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“What makes Jamaica so unique is its topography,” FOX Weather Meteorologist Stephen Morgan noted.
The island’s mountainous terrain, namely Blue Mountain’s 7,402-foot peek, can disrupt the structure of tropical systems and raise the threat of flooding, mudslides and landslides as runoff descends into the lower-lying areas of Jamaica, including the nation’s capital of Kingston, which features a metropolitan area population of nearly 1 million.
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“Any system with tropical moisture is going to be a problem, but when you add in the mountains, it is especially bad, and that’s why the concern is so high for Jamaica as we go into Melissa,” FOX Weather Meteorologist Marissa Torres said.
