All airports in Jamaica will close at 9 PM local time on October 25th as Hurricane Melissa approaches the island, according to JIS. Minister of Energy, Telecommunications, and Transport, Daryl Vaz, confirmed the closure during a special press briefing this morning, following previous announcements. As Hurricane Melissa nears, NOAA 42 measured an extrapolated pressure of 970.8 hPa with peak flight-level winds of 97 knots, which likely translates to approximately 85 knots at the surface, according to a report at 11:47 PM UTC. Residents in Kingston were observed rushing final preparations amid a "beautiful pre hurricane sunset," with calls to complete them immediately. Previous advisories from the National Hurricane Center (NHC) indicated that Hurricane Melissa was forecast to become a Category 5 storm before impacting Jamaica, potentially causing catastrophic and life-threatening conditions. Damaging winds and heavy rainfall were expected to begin on the night of October 25th, leading to severe flash flooding, landslides, extensive infrastructural damage, and prolonged power and communication outages. A life-threatening storm surge was also anticipated along the southern coast early the following week. The NHC had previously warned on October 24th that storm surge could reach 9 to 13 feet above ground level.
