Hurricane Melissa made landfall as one of the strongest storms in the history of the Atlantic basin.
TimelineHow Does Melissa Compare To Other Storms?
Melissa is already one of the most powerful storms to make landfall in recorded history. Only two others made landfall while sustaining 185 mph wind speeds—the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935, which struck Florida, and Hurricane Dorian, which struck the Bahamas in 2019. Only one hurricane has ever sustained higher wind speeds—Hurricane Allen in 1980. Hurricane Allen’s wind speed reached 190 mph, but the storm weakened with wind speeds dropping to 115 mph before it made landfall. After making landfall, Melissa’s pressure was also recorded at 892 millibars. Lower pressure means higher storm intensity, and only two hurricanes have recorded lower pressure levels in history in the Atlantic basin.
