How Hurricane Melissa Became a Meteorologic Outlier

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November 3, 2025 • 12 mins

Hurricane Melissa stunned meteorologists with its rare intensity, reaching wind speeds that are more typical of Pacific supertyphoons and maintaining Category 5 strength for more than 24 hours. Scientific American senior editor Andrea Thompson breaks down what made the storm so unusual, how it impacted Jamaica and Haiti and what it might signal about the future of hurricanes. Plus, we discuss quick updates on viral infections and heart health, black hole collisions and chimpanzee rationality. Recommended Reading Hurricane Melissa Images Reveal a Monster Storm for the Record Books How Hurricane Melissa Became One of the Most Intense Atlantic Storms on Record With Melissa, 2025 Becomes Only the Second Season with More Than Two Category 5 Hurricanes Why Hurricane Melissa Could Be the Worst Storm to Ever Hit Jamaica Chimps Can Weigh Evidence and Update Their Beliefs Like Humans Do E-mail us at sciencequickly@sciam.com if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover! Discover something new every day: subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for Today in Science, our daily newsletter. Science Quickly is produced by Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was edited by Alex Sugiura. Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck fact-check the show. The theme music was composed by Dominic Smith. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}How Hurricane Melissa Became a Meteorologic Outlier