Author | Lightnews

Sam Lillo @samlillo.bsky.social · 3h

While Melissa definitely made a difference, it’s interesting to see that the entire Caribbean fell pretty markedly in that animation.

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Sam Lillo @samlillo.bsky.social · 18h

Melissa is wasting no time getting reorganized back over the ocean north of Jamaica

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Reposted by Sam Lillo

Amelia Urquhart 🏳️‍⚧️ @ameliaurquhart.bsky.social · 18h

I recommend anybody interested in donating uses the official website launched earlier today instead of the links I posted supportjamaica.gov.jm/donateq

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Sam Lillo @samlillo.bsky.social · 20h

The circulation of Melissa rotating classically anticyclonically around the high terrain.

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Sam Lillo @samlillo.bsky.social · 21h

I see some kind of bird...

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Sam Lillo @samlillo.bsky.social · 1d

Track update. Substantial westward wobble

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Sam Lillo @samlillo.bsky.social · 1d

Just my routine plea not to compare a hurricane to the EF scale. Please.

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Reposted by Sam Lillo

Jeremy DeHart @jeremydehartwx.bsky.social · 1d

I was worried for my crew mates when I saw them circling in the eye for over 20 mins. Looks like the very rough ride was confirmed. Plane had to leave early. They reported svr turb and a "sawtooth" eye. Looks like they moved 600-700ft up & down during this stretch in ~1 min.

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Reposted by Sam Lillo

Philippe Papin @pppapin.bsky.social · 1d

219-kt peak wind would be the highest wind value a dropsonde has ever recorded, ahead of 215-kt value in Super Typhoon Megi in 2010 & the 210 kt recorded just yesterday in #Hurricane #Melissa.

Still needs to be validated… so this data is preliminary.

Sam Lillo @samlillo.bsky.social · 1d

This is hands down the most extraordinary dropsonde in Atlantic recon history.

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Reposted by Sam Lillo

Jen DeHart @jcdehart.bsky.social · 1d

I'm not sure whether anyone's quantified the 3-D size of a mountainous island needed to deflect a TC's track, but if it persists, that could be a contributing factor (among others).

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Sam Lillo @samlillo.bsky.social · 1d

Wobble west

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Sam Lillo @samlillo.bsky.social · 1d

This is hands down the most extraordinary dropsonde in Atlantic recon history.

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Reposted by Sam Lillo

Ryan @ryanswx.bsky.social · 1d

Good lord. If I remember correctly, and I think it’s hard to verify unfortunately, this 219 kt/252 mph dropsonde wind gust in Melissa is easily the strongest the hurricane hunters have ever recorded

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Sam Lillo @samlillo.bsky.social · 1d

892mb pressure
185mph winds

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Sam Lillo @samlillo.bsky.social · 1d

would love to see the NE quadrant sampled before landfall, but looks like it'll be too late for that.

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Sam Lillo @samlillo.bsky.social · 1d

173kt peak flight level winds, highest measured so far in Melissa, and not even on the strongest side of the storm.

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Reposted by Sam Lillo

Simon Lee @simonleewx.com · 1d

This storm is a testament to what can happen if a hurricane doesn't blow out its eyewall too quickly. Melissa didn't seem to develop the unstable pinhole eye true of many cat 5 storms.

And of course a testament to the power of weather prediction that we can forecast these things days in advance.

Philippe Papin @pppapin.bsky.social · 1d

#Melissa unfortunately is still intensifying. A 9am EDT Tropical Cyclone Update indicates that winds are up to 180 mph, with an estimated minimum pressure of 896 mb.

You can see how GLM lightning has 📈 in the past hour, encircling the eye, with eye WV temp still increasing!

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Reposted by Sam Lillo

Tomer Burg @burgwx.bsky.social · 1d

Indeed we’ve got a dropsonde supporting 892mb, making Melissa tied with the Labor Day hurricane for the 3rd deepest Atlantic hurricane on record (behind Gilbert & Wilma) — and at this rate, headed for the deepest Atlantic hurricane at landfall on record.

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Sam Lillo @samlillo.bsky.social · 1d

Stunning wavenumber 5 pinwheel inside the eye.

Chuck Copeland 🌀 @nchurricane.com · 1d

This meso loop of #Melissa from CIRA is absolutely stunning at it makes its closes in on landfall in southwestern Jamaica.

rammb-data.cira.colostate.edu/tc_realtime/...

#hurricanemelissa

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Reposted by Sam Lillo

Brian McNoldy @bmcnoldy.bsky.social · 1d

With a central pressure down to 896mb as of 9am EDT, #Melissa has joined the elite sub-900mb group of Atlantic hurricanes... it is now one of just seven:

Wilma 2005: 882mb
Gilbert 1988: 888mb
Labor Day 1935: 892mb
Rita 2005: 895mb
Milton 2024: 895mb
Melissa 2025: 896mb
Allen 1980: 899mb