Hurricane Melissa became a Category 5 hurricane early this morning and continues to strengthen. Pressures have dropped a few more millibars, and winds have responded by going up and are now estimated to be 175 mph.

Hurricane Melissa is the strongest of this hurricane season, one of 3 Category 5 hurricanes this year. That's the most Category 5 hurricanes since 2005, which had 4. This is also the strongest hurricane since Hurricane Milton in October of last year. Milton peaked with winds up to 180 mph.

This will be a catastrophic hurricane for Jamaica with Melissa expected to make landfall on the southwest shore of the island early Tuesday. The hurricane will likely be the strongest hurricane ever recorded on the island, beating Gilbert of 1988, a low-end Category 4 at landfall with 130 mp

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