Hurricane Melissa is currently a Category 1 storm with maximum sustained winds of 90 mph as it's "starting to accelerate northeastward over the Bahamas," the National Hurricane Center said.

When we talk about hurricanes, the first number you usually hear is wind speed. That makes sense. Wind is what tears off roofs, knocks down trees, and turns debris into dangerous missiles. Wind kicks up waves and pushes storm surge onto beaches.

The center of Hurricane Melissa is now about 150 miles northeast of the Bahamas, and impacts will continue to subside over the next several hours. Melissa maintains its category 2

Hurricane Melissa is moving quickly away from Bermuda and is expected to become extratropical on Friday, according to the National Hurricane Center. Melissa is currently located approximately 255 miles north of Bermuda. It has maximum sustained winds of 90 mph and a minimum central pressure of 973 millibars.

Hurricane Melissa is on track to pass through the southeastern islands of the Bahamas, which are sparsely populated compared to the islands in the north of the archipelago. The two islands that are in the storm’s direct path, Crooked Island and Long Island, have a total population of just a few thousand people.

Forecasters said the colossal amount of rain dropped on parts of Florida east and north of Orlando was comparable to what the region saw from a hurricane in 2022, underscoring the state's vulnerability to extreme weather far beyond the tropical storms that brew offshore.

The National Hurricane Center's 8 a.m. Wednesday update reported that Category 2 Hurricane Melissa is 45 miles northwest of Guantanamo Cuba and 205 miles south of the Central Bahamas. The hurricane is moving to the north-northeast at 14 mph, with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph.

The Atlantic hurricane season began on June 1 and lasts through November 30. There have been 13 named storms so far this season.

While the recovery continues from Hurricane Melissa, it's still amazing to me that just five years ago, we were entering a two-week period when two Category 4 hurricanes struck virtually the same place.

During Hurricane Melissa’s wrath on the Caribbean, hurricane hunters played a crucial role in collecting data on Melissa’s sustained wind speeds and minimum central pressure. During one of the final intercepts of Hurricane Melissa prior to landfall in Jamaica,