Radio Cadena Agramonte emisiora de Camagüey
Havana, October 28. - The Institute of Meteorology reports in its Tropical Cyclone Advisory No. 17 that Hurricane Melissa is beginning to move slowly north-northeast.
During the last few hours, Hurricane Melissa has maintained the same intensity and has begun to move slowly north-northeast. Maximum sustained winds remain at 280 kilometers per hour, with higher gusts, and its central pressure dropped to 903 hectopascals, so it continues as a major hurricane, category five on the Saffir-Simpson scale.
At midnight, the eye of Hurricane Melissa was estimated at 16.6 degrees North latitude and 78.5 degrees West longitude, a position that places it about 230 kilometers southwest of Kingston, Jamaica, 365 kilometers south-southwest of Cabo Cruz, Granma, and 470 kilometers southwest of the city of Santiago de Cuba. Melissa is moving at a translational speed of only four kilometers per hour.
In the next 24 hours, the hurricane is expected to gradually incline its trajectory toward the northeast, increasing its translational speed. According to the forecasted trajectory, the eye of Melissa is expected to move near or over Jamaica, approaching the south coast of the eastern region of Cuba in the early hours of Wednesday.
During its trajectory, Hurricane Melissa will experience fluctuations in its intensity; however, it will remain a major hurricane as it passes through Jamaica and Cuba. The outer bands of this hurricane will continue to increase cloudiness and precipitation in the eastern region of Cuba, which can be heavy and intense in some localities, mainly in mountainous areas.
Winds will be from the northeast to east across much of the country, with speeds in the afternoon between 35 and 50 kilometers per hour in the eastern provinces, with higher gusts, which will increase to tropical storm force at night. Strong swells will persist with waves between 2.5 to 4.0 meters in the seas south of the provinces of Granma, Santiago de Cuba, and Guantánamo, with light to moderate flooding in low areas of this littoral.
The Forecasting Center of the Institute of Meteorology maintains close surveillance on the evolution and future trajectory of this major hurricane. (Text and photo: ACN)
