As Hurricane Melissa intensified into a Category 5 storm Monday, Oct. 27, and threatened to unleash its fury across the Caribbean through Tuesday and Wednesday — particularly over Jamaica, Cuba, and the southeastern Bahamas — Sarasota and Manatee County residents couldn’t help but recall the devastation hurricanes Helene and Milton brought just over a year ago.
Here’s hoping the island nations in Melissa’s path weather the storm as safely as possible — and that recovery comes swiftly. A year later, here in Sarasota, coastal communities such as Siesta Key, St. Armands Key, Anna Maria Island, and Cortez are still slowly coming back to life.
Hurricane Melissa is forecast to have devastating impacts on islands in the northern Caribbean with even stronger winds in elevated areas and up to 30 inches of rain in some areas, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami…