Lightning flashes in the eyewall of Category 5 Melissa are a marker of how strong the storm is. It reached a central pressure of 892 millibars, among the lowest ever recorded in the Atlantic Ocean. It is tied as the third-most intense Atlantic storm with the devastating 1935 Labor Day hurricane.

Historic, life-threatening flash flooding and landslides are expected in portions of Jamaica, southern Haiti and the Dominican Republic through the weekend, the NHC said. Peak storm surge heights could reach 9 to 13 feet above normal tide levels when the storm makes landfall, accompanied by large and powerfully destructive waves.

Hurricane Melissa has made landfall in Jamaica. It is the most powerful storm ever to hit the island and one of the strongest hurricanes ever recorded. After lingering in the Caribbean for several days Melissa has accelerated north.

This article originally published at Severe Hurricane Melissa causes cruise ship scramble to Gulf. As winter approaches, it helps to know when to pack a parka or rain gear. AccuWeather has the skinny on what regions will see heavy snow and when.

With winds up to 175 mph, the Category 5 storm has grounded flights, rerouted cruises, and forced resort evacuations.

Hurricane Melissa is about to make landfall in Jamaica. Marlon Hill, Lead Relief Mobilizer for the south Florida organization Caribbean Strong, joins Chris Jansing to share more on how they are already preparing to send critical supplies to the country in the aftermath of the storm.

Jamaica is expected to be in the storm's eyewall, which refers to the band of dense clouds surrounding the eye of the hurricane. The eyewall generally produces the fiercest winds and heaviest rainfall, according to Deanna Hence, a professor of climate, meteorology and atmospheric sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.