Satellite imagery from the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere (CIRA) shows lightning flashing within the storm’s well-defined eye.

Hurricane Melissa weakened slightly, but it was still a powerful Category 4 after making landfall in Jamaica on Tuesday afternoon, Oct. 28, as the strongest-ever storm to directly hit the Caribbean nation of 2.8 million people.

According to the U.S. National Hurricane Center, the hurricane was the strongest-ever storm to directly hit the island with sustained winds of 185 miles per hour when it made landfall near the town of New Hope, some 39 miles south of Montego Bay.

See the video here

In a video captured from space on Monday, Oct. 27, the massive eye of Hurricane Melissa can be seen rotating and generating a powerful lightning storm in its center as it approached Jamaica.

Melissa could bring up to 30 inches of rain to parts of Jamaica, and up to 12 inches to parts of the island of Hispaniola, the NHC said.

"The island has never taken a direct hit from a Category 4 or a Category 5 hurricane in recorded history," AccuWeather's lead hurricane expert, Alex DaSilva, told Reuters. "The destruction could be unlike anything people in Jamaica have seen before."

Reuters contributed to this report.

Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at fernando.cervantes@gannett.com and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: See video of Hurricane Melissa generating powerful lightning storm before landfall

Reporting by Fernando Cervantes Jr., USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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