Hurricane Melissa, which struck Jamaica with record-tying 298 kph winds Tuesday, was a beast that stood out as extreme even in a record number of monster storms spawned over the last decade in a superheated Atlantic Ocean.
Melissa somehow shook off at least three different meteorological conditions that normally weaken major hurricanes and was still gaining power as it hit, scientists said, a bit amazed.
And while more storms these days are undergoing rapid intensification — gaining 56 kph in wind speed over 24 hours — Melissa did a lot more than that. It achieved what's called extreme rapid intensification — gaining at least 93 kph over 24 hours.
In fact, Melissa turbocharged by about 113 kph during a 24-hour period last week and had an unusual second round of rapid intensifi
Continue Reading on Euronews
This preview shows approximately 15% of the article. Read the full story on the publisher's website to support quality journalism.