If you’re joining us from Jamaica or have friends and family there, our hearts are with you. Hurricane Melissa is a catastrophic, late-season Category 5 hurricane – the strongest on record this time of year – and is making landfall on Jamaica’s south coast with sustained winds near 180 mph and gusts well over 200 mph. There’s been no eyewall replacement cycle to briefly ease intensity; instead, Melissa has continued to strengthened. That’s as bad as it gets for the island, with life-threatening, catastophic impacts.
Track & What It Means for New England
Melissa crosses Jamaica today then moves across eastern Cuba as a Category 4, reaching the southeast Bahamas Wednesday as a Category 2 and sliding near -but likely north and west of – Bermuda on Thursday. For New England, the core passes safely 700 miles or so to our south and east. Still, a broader trough digging into the eastern U.S. will tug some tropical moisture north and link it into our late-week system, boosting Thursday evening rain without bringing the hurricane itself anywhere close.
Midweek Set-Up
• Wednesday: Onshore flow keeps a marine layer and lots of clouds for southern New England, with a few spotty showers South Shore to Cape Cod. Farther north, more breaks of sun. Highs in the 50s.
• Thursday: Mostly cloudy. Many eastern areas stay mainly dry much of the day, aside from a rogue shower. The main rain band—heaviest Thursday late afternoon/night—moves west to east. Strongest downpours and some 30–40 mph gusts arrive during the late evening and overnight. Most spots pick up ~0.5″–1″ rain; a few locales may exceed 1″ (outer Cape, parts of eastern Maine, a couple of Western New England pockets).
Friday: Halloween Details
The rain exits early Friday, but the wind ramps up behind the system: west to west-southwest gusts commonly 30–40 mph, possibly higher on Nantucket. Most trick-or-treat hours look dry with just an isolated leftover shower. Temperatures sit in the 40s but will feel like upper 30s to near 40 in the wind. Plan extra layers under costumes and consider hand warmers for the littles.
Mountain Snow & Weekend
Colder air spilling in Friday night through the weekend taps leftover moisture over the higher terrain. Expect a coating to an inch- locally a few inches- on the highest summits of northern VT, northern Coös County NH, and far northwestern ME by Sunday morning, with a bit more in New York’s High Peaks. Flurries could linger into Sunday. Highs this weekend run cooler than average: 40s north, 50s south.
Track Melissa and our late-week system on the free 1DegreeOutside app – toggle on Tropical Overlays.
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