CBS News meteorologist Rob Marciano tracks Hurricane Melissa's path as it slowly moves toward Jamaica as a Category 5 storm.

Florida

Hurricane Melissa, currently the strongest hurricane or typhoon globally this year, is nearing landfall in Jamaica with unprecedented wind gusts recorded at 247 miles per hour by Hurricane Hunter aircraft. The hurricane's most intense winds extend about 20 miles from its center, posing a significant threat to areas such as Kingston, Black River, and Montego Bay, with the latter expected to experience winds over 100 miles per hour.

The storm is forecast to move into Cuba while maintaining Category 4 strength before weakening over mountainous terrain and then affecting the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos. Authorities are warning of devastating winds, heavy rainfall, flooding, and mudslides as the storm progresses, with the potential for widespread impact across the region.

Tracking Hurricane Melissa as it slowly churns in the Caribbean

For more on Melissa's path, let's bring in CBS News meteorologist Rob Marciano. Rob, good morning. Hey, good morning, Nate. Yeah, the surge is going to be a huge deal in Kingston. They've already had winds gusting to 59 miles per hour. Look at this thing. Yesterday, one of those Hurricane Hunter aircraft, in one of their drop sounds, measured a wind gust of 247 miles per hour. That's the highest ever recorded within a hurricane. This is the strongest hurricane or typhoon on the planet this year. But the scariest part about these stats is that it's so close to landfall right now. Now, the good news is that the most intense, devastating winds only extend about 20 miles out. But it's like an EF-3, 20-mile-wide tornado that's going to cut across Jamaica. Hopefully, we see some weakening. But whether it's a Cat 4 or Cat 5, really for practical purposes, it doesn't matter. It's going to be devastating in that area and then across the entire island. So let's talk about the track here. We expect landfall to be probably later on this morning and right around noontime, local time. And winds will be cutting through the southwestern corner there, a town called Black River. It's going to get hit hard. And in Montego Bay, we didn't think that was going to get hard. But it's going to be on the west side of this thing. And they will see winds likely over 100 miles per hour. Huge tourist destination there. And then we'll get it into Cuba overnight tonight, likely as a Category 4 still. So it's not really going to weaken that much. But the mountains of Cuba will weaken it. And then once it gets to the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos, it will be a little bit weaker. And then accelerating out to sea, because we have not one but two storms that will be heading towards the East Coast that will help do that. Rainfall, obviously, going to be a massive issue. Already is. So flooding and mudslides potentially as this historic storm rows through Jamaica. Tony, over to you. Rob, thank you very much. Appreciate it.

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