How Hurricane Melissa quickly became one of the most powerful landfall storms in recorded history

Hurricane Melissa, which made landfall in Jamaica on Tuesday, October 28, was one of strongest hurricanes to make landfall in the Atlantic Ocean ever recorded. And it was supercharged by the effects of climate change.

As it approached the Caribbean, Melissa—a Category 5 storm with winds of 185 mph—moved over exceptionally warm waters.

The ocean was 2.2 degrees F (1.2 degrees Celsius) warmer than average for this time of year—conditions that were “made up to 900 times more likely by human-caused climate change,” according to the scientists at the research nonprofit Climate Central.

Carbon emissions from human actions trap heat in the atmosphere, but our oceans absorb most of that heat—about 93% since 1970.

As the storm moved over those warm waters, it rapidly intensified. In just 24 hou