Hurricane Melissa brushes Bermuda with powerful winds after leaving deadly path in Caribbean
After making landfalls in Jamaica as a Category 5 hurricane and in Cuba as a Category 3, Hurricane Melissa continues its devastating trek across the Atlantic with dangerous surf, winds and storm surge forecast for Bermuda Thursday and Friday.
HURRICANE HQ: FOX Weather Storm Specialist Mike Seidel tracks Hurricane Melissa from Bermuda
Although Hurricane Melissa's center is forecast to pass more than 100 miles past the coast of Bermuda, the outer bands of the withering deadly storm are expected to bring high winds and potential rain to the Caribbean island.
SOUTHAMPTON PARISH, Bermuda – Bermuda is yet again under a hurricane threat this season as Hurricane Melissa is forecast to charge north, bringing dangerous winds and storm surge.
Hurricane Melissa has already left a trail of destruction across the Caribbean this week. The storm contributed to at least three dozen deaths across three countries before making landfall in Jamaica as a Category 5 storm with 185-mph winds, becoming tied for the third-most-intense pressure of an Atlantic hurricane on record at 892 millibars.
Melissa is maintaining strength as a Category 2 hurricane as it exits the Bahamas and is forecast to pass just to the northwest of Bermuda from late Thursday into Friday morning. A Hurricane Warning remains in effect for Bermuda.
As of Thursday night, Hurricane Melissa is 160 miles west-northwest of the coast of Bermuda, packing maximum sustained winds of 105 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center.
After Melissa passes Bermuda, the storm is forecast to become a strong post-tropical cyclone over the North Atlantic by Friday night or early Saturday morning, according to the FOX Forecast Center.
(FOX Weather)
"Preparations should be rushed to completion in Bermuda before tropical-storm-force winds reach the island later today," the NHC warned Thursday morning.
This hurricane season, Bermuda faced impacts from back-to-back hurricanes, with hurricanes Humberto and Imelda passing very close to the island within the same week, but neither made a direct landfall.
A red flag warning of unsafe beach conditions is see in St. George's, Bermuda, during Hurricane Imelda.
(FOX Weather)
Hurricane-force wind gusts and heavy rainfall from Melissa's outer bands are expected in Bermuda beginning late Thursday and through the night. According to the NHC, coastal flooding from storm surge is possible.
FOX Weather Storm Specialist Mike Seidel is reporting Northhampton, Bermuda, where some of the worst conditions are possible by Thursday night.
(FOX Weather)
The good news is that Melissa has continued to weaken after blasting the Caribbean and has significantly picked up speed. The hurricane was moving at between 3 and 8 mph earlier this week before making landfall in Jamaica. On Thursday night, the NHC reported that Hurricane Melissa was racing past the island at 38 mph.
(FOX Weather)
The full context of recovery in Jamaica is still being determined after Hurricane Melissa's monster winds and heavy rain destroyed infrastructure, including extensive damage at the Montego Bay Airport.
Jamaican officials have reported at least four people were killed in St. Elizabeth Parish, where the storm made landfall, but a more complete assessment is ongoing.
![Wind damage from Hurricane Melissa in Discovery Bay, Jamaica on Oct. 29, 2025 a day after landfall.]()
Image 1 of 10Wind damage from Hurricane Melissa in Discovery Bay, Jamaica on Oct. 29, 2025 a day after landfall. ( )
![Flooding from Hurricane Melissa in Discovery Bay, Jamaica on Oct. 29, 2025 a day after landfall.]()
Image 2 of 10Flooding from Hurricane Melissa in Discovery Bay, Jamaica on Oct. 29, 2025 a day after landfall. ( )
![A store stands destroyed following the passage of Hurricane Melissa in Manchester, Jamaica, on October 28, 2025. Hurricane Melissa ripped up trees and knocked out power after making landfall in Jamaica on October 28, 2025 as one of the most powerful hurricanes on record, inundating the island nation with rains that threaten flash floods and landslides. (Photo by Ricardo Makyn / AFP) (Photo by RICARDO MAKYN/AFP via Getty Images)]()
Image 3 of 10A store stands destroyed following the passage of Hurricane Melissa in Manchester, Jamaica, on October 28, 2025. Hurricane Melissa ripped up trees and knocked out power after making landfall in Jamaica on October 28, 2025 as one of the most powerful hurricanes on record, inundating the island nation with rains that threaten flash floods and landslides. (Photo by Ricardo Makyn / AFP) (Photo by RICARDO MAKYN/AFP via Getty Images) ( )
![Damage from Hurricane Melissa in Discovery Bay, Jamaica on Oct. 29, 2025 a day after landfall.]()
Image 4 of 10Damage from Hurricane Melissa in Discovery Bay, Jamaica on Oct. 29, 2025 a day after landfall. ( )
![Damage from Hurricane Melissa in Discovery Bay, Jamaica on Oct. 29, 2025 a day after landfall.]()
Image 5 of 10Damage from Hurricane Melissa in Discovery Bay, Jamaica on Oct. 29, 2025 a day after landfall. ( )
![Damage from Hurricane Melissa in Discovery Bay, Jamaica on Oct. 29, 2025 a day after landfall.]()
Image 6 of 10Damage from Hurricane Melissa in Discovery Bay, Jamaica on Oct. 29, 2025 a day after landfall. ( )
![A damaged car by a fallen tree is seen after the passage of Hurricane Melissa in Manchester, Jamaica, on October 28, 2025. Hurricane Melissa ripped up trees and knocked out power after making landfall in Jamaica on October 28, 2025 as one of the most powerful hurricanes on record, inundating the island nation with rains that threaten flash floods and landslides. (Photo by Ricardo Makyn / AFP) (Photo by RICARDO MAKYN/AFP via Getty Images)]()
Image 7 of 10A damaged car by a fallen tree is seen after the passage of Hurricane Melissa in Manchester, Jamaica, on October 28, 2025. Hurricane Melissa ripped up trees and knocked out power after making landfall in Jamaica on October 28, 2025 as one of the most powerful hurricanes on record, inundating the island nation with rains that threaten flash floods and landslides. (Photo by Ricardo Makyn / AFP) (Photo by RICARDO MAKYN/AFP via Getty Images) ( )
![A house with a damaged roof is seen after the passage of Hurricane Melissa in Manchester, Jamaica, on October 28, 2025. Hurricane Melissa ripped up trees and knocked out power after making landfall in Jamaica on October 28, 2025 as one of the most powerful hurricanes on record, inundating the island nation with rains that threaten flash floods and landslides. (Photo by Ricardo Makyn / AFP) (Photo by RICARDO MAKYN/AFP via Getty Images)]()
Image 8 of 10A house with a damaged roof is seen after the passage of Hurricane Melissa in Manchester, Jamaica, on October 28, 2025. Hurricane Melissa ripped up trees and knocked out power after making landfall in Jamaica on October 28, 2025 as one of the most powerful hurricanes on record, inundating the island nation with rains that threaten flash floods and landslides. (Photo by Ricardo Makyn / AFP) (Photo by RICARDO MAKYN/AFP via Getty Images) ( )
![Fallen trees block sections of the Spur Tree main road following the passage of Hurricane Melissa in Manchester, Jamaica, on October 28, 2025. Hurricane Melissa ripped up trees and knocked out power after making landfall in Jamaica on October 28, 2025 as one of the most powerful hurricanes on record, inundating the island nation with rains that threaten flash floods and landslides. (Photo by Ricardo Makyn / AFP) (Photo by RICARDO MAKYN/AFP via Getty Images)]()
Image 9 of 10Fallen trees block sections of the Spur Tree main road following the passage of Hurricane Melissa in Manchester, Jamaica, on October 28, 2025. Hurricane Melissa ripped up trees and knocked out power after making landfall in Jamaica on October 28, 2025 as one of the most powerful hurricanes on record, inundating the island nation with rains that threaten flash floods and landslides. (Photo by Ricardo Makyn / AFP) (Photo by RICARDO MAKYN/AFP via Getty Images) ( )
![A police officer inspects a car damaged by a fallen tree after the passage of Hurricane Melissa in Manchester, Jamaica, on October 28, 2025. Hurricane Melissa ripped up trees and knocked out power after making landfall in Jamaica on October 28, 2025 as one of the most powerful hurricanes on record, inundating the island nation with rains that threaten flash floods and landslides. (Photo by Ricardo Makyn / AFP) (Photo by RICARDO MAKYN/AFP via Getty Images)]()
Image 10 of 10A police officer inspects a car damaged by a fallen tree after the passage of Hurricane Melissa in Manchester, Jamaica, on October 28, 2025. Hurricane Melissa ripped up trees and knocked out power after making landfall in Jamaica on October 28, 2025 as one of the most powerful hurricanes on record, inundating the island nation with rains that threaten flash floods and landslides. (Photo by Ricardo Makyn / AFP) (Photo by RICARDO MAKYN/AFP via Getty Images) ( )
FOX Weather Correspondent Robert Ray and his field team were in St. Ann Parish when Melissa's winds ripped off winds and sliding glass doors. Widespread damage has been reported across western Jamaica.
In the heart of a devastated Montego Bay, Jamaica, residents struggle to cope in ruins after Hurricane Melissa.
FOX Weather Correspondent Robert Ray is in the heart of a devastated Montego Bay, Jamaica showing residents struggling to cope with their homes and neighborhoods in ruins after Hurricane Melissa.
FOX Weather Hurricane Specialist Bryan Norcross said the true strength of Hurricane Melissa will be determined through extensive analyses in the months to come, and it could be the strongest Atlantic landfalling hurricane in history.
Melissa currently ties as the strongest landfalling hurricane on record in the Atlantic Basin. The Labor Day hurricane in 1935 also had winds of 185 mph and a pressure of 892 millibars.
Top Atlantic hurricanes by pressure.
(FOX Weather)