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Hurricane Melissa is traveling so slowly across the Caribbean that you could beat it walking — and that’s why it’s so terrifying, according to experts.
The wicked storm is moving at under 1 mph, allowing it ample time to gather force over the ocean, linger over its land targets — and potentially end up as one of the most destructive storms in history, meteorologists said.
“This is an extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation! Take cover now!” the National Hurricane Center said in a statement.
Tropical storms typically move at around 10 to 12 mph in the area, but over the weekend, Melissa ground almost to an absolute halt.
As the storm has slowed, it has continued to strengthen, with maximum sustained winds of 185 mph as it neared landfall in Jamaica on Tuesday, the NHC said.
Because the storm is so slow, it also will take longer than normal for it to die off, according to experts.
Storm Melissa is stuck between two separate areas of high pressure, which is causing the prevailing winds that normally move storms on to slacken.
“There’s a pebble in the stream, but the stream is stagnant. There’s nothing pushing the storm along,” said Phil Klotzbach, senior research scientist at Colorado State University, to the New York Times.
Tropical storms that stall can dump enormous amounts of rain on a confined area for a prolonged length of time, increasing the risk of deadly flooding.
Jamaica and Haiti are both mountainous nations, raising the danger of intensive rainfall rates in the narrow valleys.
Up to 30 inches of rain accompanied by hazardous mudslides are predicted in some parts of the Caribbean over Tuesday and Wednesday, according to forecasters.
In the past, stalling has resulted in some of the most destructive storms in history.
In 2019, Hurricane Dorian brought devastation to the Bahamas, while Hurricanes Florence in 2018 and Harvey the previous year both saw enormous rainfall hit North Carolina and southeast Texas, respectively.
There is evidence that the frequency of slow-moving tropical storms and hurricanes is increasing in the Atlantic Basin, particularly near landmasses, according to experts.
Hurricane Melissa is expected to hit Florida with indirect after-effects, including powerful tides and winds, later in the week.
