Hurricane Melissa Upgraded, Tying Strongest Hurricane Ever in Atlantic

The eye of Major Hurricane Melissa has moved inland onto Jamaica. Image: NOAA — The eye of Major Hurricane Melissa struck Jamaica with catastrophic and lethal impact last fall . Image: NOAA

Through a thorough post-season analysis process, the National Hurricane Center has “upgraded” Hurricane Melissa’s strength, making it the strongest Atlantic hurricane on record. Melissa reached category 5 intensity on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale with a minimum central pressure of 892 mb and brought catastrophic wind and storm surge impacts to portions of western Jamaica, ultimately claiming 95 lives. The winds have been increased up to 165 knots which equal to 190 mph.

The National Hurricane Center’s final report confirms Hurricane Melissa hit 165-knot winds on October 28, 2025, south-southwest of Jamaica, tying Hurricane Allen as the strongest in Atlantic basin records. It slammed western Jamaica as a Category 5 with 160-knot winds, tying for the basin’s most intense landfall, then weakened while crossing Cuba and the Bahamas before fading north of Bermuda. The slow-moving monster brought catastrophic damage, heavy rains up to 37 inches in Haiti, and claimed 95 lives across the region, capping a hyperactive 2025 season

Based on the re-analysis just released by the National Hurricane Center, Melissa set a variety of meteorological records for Atlantic and global tropical cyclones:

ATLANTIC RECORDS BROKEN

• 165-kt peak maximum sustained winds, tied for first with 1980’s Allen
• 160-kt maximum sustained winds at landfall in Jamaica tied for strongest landfall , tied with the 1935 Labor Day Hurricane and 2019’s Dorian
• 892 mb minimum central pressure, tied with the 1935 Labor Day Hurricane for 3rd lowest behind Wilma (which was 882 mb in 2005) and Gilbert (888 mb in 1988.)
• 897 mb minimum central pressure at landfall in Jamaica is the 2nd lowest landfall pressure behind the 1935 Labor Day Hurricane which was 892 mb

GLOBAL RECORD BROKEN
• Highest instantaneous wind measured by dropsonde 219 kt , beating the previous record Super Typhoon Megi which had 209 kt winds in 2010.

The National Hurricane Center has published their full re-analysis online here: https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/data/tcr/AL132025_Melissa.pdf