Why slow-motion Melissa has been such a bad storm

Hurricane Melissa has cut a path of destruction through the Caribbean this week, hitting Jamaica, Cuba and the Bahamas with winds of up to 185mph.

- JAMES C. REYNOLDS

Aid groups are still working to assess the full extent of the damage brought by the storm, with more than 30 people reported to have died so far.

Melissa has been dubbed the “storm of the century” and is one of the worst to have hit the region in decades. Experts say that the storm’s powerful winds and its slow pace, probably exacerbated by climate change, have allowed a huge hurricane to linger in the region for maximum damage.

Jonathan Porter, chief meteorologist at AccuWeather, said that the storm was “a dire situation unfolding in slow motion”, noting that “slow-moving major hurricanes often go down in history as some of the deadliest and most destructive storms”.

“The damage from this historic hurricane landfall is devastating. This was the first direct strike from a category 5 hurricane in Jamaica’s recorded history,” he said.

“Melissa had a tight inner core with the strongest winds roughly 20 miles across as it moved across western Jamaica. It may be a narrow path, but there will be significant destruction,” he added, warning that the damage might look like that of EF3 and EF4 tornadoes, as seen in the United States.

The Enhanced Fujita Scale gives scores from EF0 to EF5, and EFU for unknown, rating tornado intensity based on damage. EF3 have wind speeds of 136-165mph and cause ‘severe damage’. EF4 have speeds of 166-200mph and cause ‘devastating damage’. reducing well-built homes to debris and flipping over large, heavy vehicles.