[title]
No, New Yorkers—you can keep your umbrellas folded for now: despite what the Internet rumor mill might suggest, Hurricane Melissa is not heading up I-95. The monstrous Category 5 storm is currently pounding Jamaica with 165-mile-per-hour winds and torrential rain, but forecasters say it will veer northeast into the Atlantic long before it comes anywhere near the five boroughs.
According to the National Hurricane Center, Melissa is moving west at just 3 miles per hour, a crawl that’s making things much worse for the Caribbean islands in its path. The storm is expected to drench Jamaica with up to 30 inches of rain before crossing southeastern Cuba and the Bahamas mid-week. But, after that, a dip in the jet stream over the eastern U.S. should steer it safely out to sea.
“At this time, the odds of ‘direct’ rain and wind impacts from Melissa reaching the U.S. East Coast are low,” said AccuWeather hurricane expert Alex DaSilva in an official statement. This means you might see some choppy surf by the weekend, but you won’t be wading down Broadway.
In Jamaica, it’s a different story. Officials have called the situation “catastrophic,” with widespread power outages and dangerous flooding already underway. “It is dangerous, even though it is quick, hopefully it's quick,” restaurant owner Damian Meak told NY1 from Brooklyn’s Flatbush Central Caribbean Market. “Safety is really top of mind right now.”
Melissa’s strength is historic. Jamaica has seen only one other storm this powerful since records began in 1850: Hurricane Gilbert in 1988, which killed 45 people on the island and left hundreds of thousands homeless. Meteorologists are warning that the combination of slow movement and mountainous terrain could make rainfall totals this week even more destructive.
For New Yorkers with family in Jamaica, concern is high—and so are the WhatsApp notifications. But here at home, there’s no reason to stockpile bottled water or duct-tape your windows.
So, will Hurricane Melissa hit New York? The short answer: no. The long answer: not unless it suddenly learns how to drive north. Still, it’s a sobering reminder that hurricane season doesn’t officially end until November 30 and that sometimes the scariest storms are the ones that miss us completely.