ORLANDO, Fla. – Recent data from an Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter aircraft found Hurricane Melissa with peak winds up to 150 mph as pressure continues to drop, making the storm a powerful Category 5 hurricane.

The storm’s eye early Monday was a compact 10-miles wide, surrounded by explosive cold cloud tops, a clear sign of its extreme strength.

Forecast Path

Melissa was drifting west at 3 mph, but is expected to turn north over the next 24 hours, putting Jamaica directly in the path for a Tuesday morning landfall on the island’s southern coast.

From there, the hurricane is forecast to move across Jamaica, re-emerge over water by Tuesday afternoon, and then head toward southeastern Cuba, the southeastern Bahamas and eventually near Bermuda by late Thursday.

[VIDEO BELOW: Stor

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