The U.S. Defense Department has released dramatic footage of views inside Hurricane Melissa.

The military said a U.S. Air Force Reserve crew from the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, known as the "Hurricane Hunters," flew multiple passes through Melissa on Monday to collect critical weather data for the National Hurricane Center.

Hurricane Melissa intensified into a Category 5 storm Monday as it drew closer to Jamaica, where forecasters expected it to unleash catastrophic flooding, landslides and widespread damage.

At that strength, it would be the strongest hurricane to hit the island since record-keeping began in 1851.

Blamed for seven deaths in the northern Caribbean as it headed toward the island, Melissa was on track to make landfall Tuesday in Jamaica before coming ashore in Cuba later in the day and then heading toward the Bahamas.

It was not expected to affect the United States.