Hurricane Melissa now tied for strongest Atlantic hurricane with 190 mph winds
In a routine post-season analysis, hurricane melissa’s peak sustained winds were reassessed at 190 mph, an increase from an earlier estimate of 185 mph that changes the historical ranking of last October’s storm. The National Hurricane Center confirmed the upgrade Wednesday, tying the storm with one of the fastest Atlantic hurricanes on record.
Post-season review in Orlando, Fla. raised peak from 185 mph to 190 mph
ORLANDO, Fla. was the dateline for the initial notice that the storm’s peak intensity had been revised. During routine post-season analysis, meteorologists moved Melissa’s peak intensity up to 190 mph from the previously listed 185 mph. Satellite data and instruments from Hurricane Hunter aircraft suggested the storm may have reached 190 mph while active, and the National Hurricane Center confirmed that finding Wednesday.
Hurricane Melissa landfall in Jamaica: late October 2025 measurements and western Jamaica landfall
Last October, Melissa became a historic storm when she made landfall in Jamaica as a 185 mph Category 5 hurricane. The National Hurricane Center’s post-season review found Melissa reached a catastrophic peak intensity of 165 kt (190 mph) in late October 2025 just before she made landfall on Jamaica. The review also notes Melissa later made landfall on western Jamaica with sustained winds of 160 kt.
Human toll and impacts: 95 deaths linked to the storm
Reports tying the storm to severe impacts in Jamaica state that Melissa brought devastating effects to the island and later claimed the lives of 95 people. Those figures are part of the post-season accounting that accompanies the reanalysis of the storm’s intensity and landfall impacts.
Where Melissa sits in the record books: ties with Allen, Dorian and the 1935 Labor Day Hurricane
The 190 mph confirmation places Melissa alongside Hurricane Allen from 1980 for the highest maximum sustained wind speed recorded in the Atlantic basin. Melissa’s earlier 185 mph landfall figure had tied it with Hurricane Dorian and the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 for strongest hurricane landfalls in the Atlantic basin; the updated peak intensity preserves Melissa’s status among the most powerful. From a pressure perspective, Melissa stands tied for the third most intense hurricane on record.
Extreme gusts and measurement details
Late last year it was confirmed that Melissa produced the strongest wind gust ever recorded in a tropical cyclone: a 252 mph gust. The reassessment that raised Melissa’s sustained winds to 190 mph drew on multiple measurement sources cited in the reviews, including satellite analyses and readings from Hurricane Hunter aircraft instruments.
Report origins and personnel notes
One report on the reanalysis was filed from BRYAN, Texas, while coverage of the storm’s weather aspects was prepared from Orlando, Fla. Jonathan Kegges joined the team in June 2019 and now covers weather on television and digital platforms. For public-file assistance, a contact number listed in the original notice is 291-6000.
