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Hurricane Melissa Unleashes Record-Breaking Winds in Caribbean
Caribbean – Hurricane Melissa, a devastating Category 5 storm that ripped through the Caribbean last month, generated a record-breaking wind gust of 252 miles per hour shortly before making landfall. This unprecedented speed was captured by a specialized weather instrument dropped into the heart of the storm.
The crucial data was collected by a NOAA Hurricane Hunter airplane, which deployed a fleet of “dropsondes” into the raging hurricane. These devices, equipped with small parachutes, transmit real-time information on pressure, temperature, humidity, and wind up to four times per second before falling into the ocean.
“Dropsondes are the only devices that can record information on pressure, temperature, humidity and wind at once,” explained Terry Hock, an NSF NCAR engineer who manages the Dropsonde program. “When you’re looking at a Category 4 or 5 hurricane, you’re not going to have an airplane flying that close to the surface – that would be totally unsafe – but you need to know what is happening near sea level because that’s where people and property are most affected.”
The 252 mph gust recorded during Hurricane Melissa surpasses the previous record of 248 mph, set during Typhoon Megi in the western Pacific Ocean in 2010. While an even stronger gust was initially believed to have been recorded during Hurricane Katrina, that data later proved to have significant issues.
Upon observing the unusually high wind speed, NOAA researchers contacted the U.S. National Science Foundation National Center for Atmospheric Research (NSF NCAR) to verify the data.
Holger Vömel, a senior scientist with NSF NCAR’s Dropsonde Program, and his team meticulously reviewed the numbers using quality control software. They confirmed the physical possibility of such a gust and its consistency with the hurricane’s behavior and historical storm patterns.
“They have pilots and researchers literally putting their lives on the line to get these measurements,” Vömel stated, acknowledging the bravery of those involved. “They’re the heroes, and it’s a privilege we get to play a role in making sure the measurements they acquire are accurate.”
Hurricane Melissa caused widespread destruction across the Caribbean in late October, making landfall in Jamaica as a Category 5 storm before continuing its destructive path through Cuba, the Bahamas, the Dominican Republic, and Haiti. The storm tragically claimed dozens of lives, primarily in Jamaica and Haiti.