A US Air Force aircraft pierced Hurricane Melissa, capturing footage from inside the eye of what is being called the most powerful storm of the year.
The mission, conducted by the USAF's famed "Hurricane Hunters," was to gather meteorological data for the US National Hurricane Center as the Category 5 system moved towards Jamaica.
The aircraft entered the eye from the southeast just after sunrise, through thick grey clouds, with faint light behind them. Ahead, the towering eye wall curved in a wide circle. A bright arc on the far northwest side showed where sunlight was breaking over the storm's rim.
"We are entering from the southeast just after sunrise, and the bright arc on the far northwest eye wall is the light just beginning to make it over the top from behind us," the USAF Hurricane Hunter unit posted on X.
The clip revealed the "stadium effect," where the walls of the hurricane bend outward with height, creating a massive, arena-like view from within. "Got a nice swirl of clouds going on," they wrote on X.
Another clip showed flashes of lightning illuminating the eye wall. Inside the eye, the sea surface below showed waves moving in different directions as a slow swirl of clouds turned slowly in the centre. "The sea surface is always interesting to the eye with waves going in different directions," the post read.
The National Hurricane Center confirmed Hurricane Melissa is the most powerful storm ever to make landfall in Jamaica since records began in 1851, 174 years ago. Melissa, moving slowly at about 6-8 kmph, is expected to make landfall in Jamaica early Tuesday, bringing life-threatening storm surges of up to 13 feet and rainfall exceeding 40 inches in some areas.
Jamaica has opened more than 800 shelters and ordered evacuations across low-lying zones as the island braces for severe flooding, landslides, and power outages. By Monday night, over 50,000 homes were already without electricity. At least seven people died across the Caribbean, including in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
Hurricane Melissa is forecast to become the most powerful storm of the year, packing winds of up to 282 kmph, according to scientists.
