In analyses shared by retired National Hurricane Center chief forecaster James Franklin last week, Google’s DeepMind has been the top performing model for track and intensity in both the Atlantic and the Pacific basins this season.

Category 5 Hurricane Melissa has made landfall already in Jamaica and Cuba, as one of the strongest hurricanes to ever make landfall.

As of 10 a.m., Melissa tied with the 1935 Labor Day Hurricane for the third-strongest hurricane on record in the Atlantic Basin. Only hurricanes Wilma and Gilbert were stronger, according to the Weather Channel.

Staffing cuts and a federal government shutdown are stretching scientists’ ability to make valuable hurricane observations.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Hurricane Hunters have spent the past week diving into the eye of Melissa — a storm of historic ferocity — to gather life-saving data. But the government shutdown means they aren’t getting a paycheck.

Each year, the Atlantic Hurricane Season officially runs from June 1 through Nov. 30. Follow along as we track each storm throughout the season.

For a Category 5, this means speeds above 252 kilometers per hour (157 miles per hour). According to the National Hurricane Center’s (NHC) latest report, Melissa’s current maximum sustained wind speed sits at around 280 km/h (175 mph). This makes it the strongest storm to have hit in 2025.

As Hurricane Melissa neared the Jamaican coast, winds in the spiraling wall of clouds around its eye gusted to almost unimaginable speeds. How fast? Faster than most tornadoes. Faster than a race car at Daytona.

The NOAA's Aircraft Operations Center captured video aboard its Lockheed WP-3D Orion aircraft, Kermit, as it was buffeted by winds near the storm's eye.

They fly straight into the world’s most dangerous storms to gather life-saving data. Here's the skinny on the pilots and scientists who make hurricane hunting possible.

During Hurricane Melissa’s wrath on the Caribbean, hurricane hunters played a crucial role in collecting data on Melissa’s sustained wind speeds and minimum central pressure. During one of the final intercepts of Hurricane Melissa prior to landfall in Jamaica,

Hurricane Melissa data is being sent to CSU's Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere Lab to investigate why Category 4 & 5 hurricanes are more common.