10/22/2025
All eyes and ears are on Tropical Storm Melissa, now in the Caribbean Sea. As of 11:00 AM EDT on Wednesday October 22, 2025, Melissa was drifting west-northwestward in the central Caribbean. Heavy rain and flooding are expected over portions of Hispaniola and Jamaica for the reminder of the week.
A hurricane watch is in effect for the southwestern peninsula of Haiti, from the border with the Dominican Republic to Port-Au-Prince. A tropical storm watch is in effect for Jamaica.
"Melissa is definitely going to need to be watched. If it makes it into the Gulf, it could be a big problem," said ARRL Director of Emergency Management Josh Johnston, KE5MHV.
The Hurricane Watch Net[1] is carefully monitoring the storm's development. While earlier appraisals weren't certain of its direction, most of the projections now expect a turn to the northwest then north over the next few days. This puts Haiti and Jamaica in its sights later this week. Tropical storm-force winds extend to 115 miles. According to the National Hurricane Center's latest bulletin, hurricane conditions in Haiti might begin on Thursday, then in Jamaica Thursday and Friday. The greatest threat is heavy rainfall in Haiti and Dominican Republic with 5 to 10 inches expected through Friday.
ARRL News will have any further updates as the storm progresses.ÿ
[1]
https://hwn.org/
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