DETROIT – Hurricane Melissa is nearing the maximum potential intensity that earth’s atmosphere can produce.
The Category 5 hurricane produced a wind gust recorded at an astonishing 241 mph by Hurricane Hunters on Monday, Oct. 27, 2025. That makes it one of the strongest hurricanes ever recorded.
Melissa’s maximum sustained winds on Tuesday morning have reached 180 mph. That’s so significant because the theoretical limit of the strength of a tropical cyclone that earth’s atmosphere can produce is currently around 184 mph.
That means Hurricane Melissa is approaching earth’s maximum theoretical intensity.
Hurricane Hunters also reported that they saw birds in the calm of the storm’s eye because the winds were too violent in the eyewall for them to escape.
Melissa is now stronger than Hurricane Katrina, at one point reaching 892 mb pressure.
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