"Rapid intensification." Expert issues warning as powerful hurricane grows and gains speed: 'More strengthening is still possible' first appeared on The Cool Down.

Hurricane Erin reached Category 5 status with 160 mph winds on Saturday, August 16th. Erin is expected to continue intensifying. While researchers have proposed a Category 6 for hurricanes exceeding 192 mph, NOAA has no plans to change the current scale.

Hurricane Melissa hit Jamaica Tuesday as a Category 5 hurricane with 185 mph winds. Abnormally warm waters helped make it stronger and more destructive.

KINGSTON, Jamaica (WCSC/AP) - Heavy floodwaters swept across southwestern Jamaica, winds tore roofs off buildings and boulders tumbled into roads Tuesday as Hurricane Melissa came ashore. Click here to download the free Live 5 First Alert Weather app.

Hurricane Melissa, the strongest storm in the world this year, is set to hit Jamaica today, and three people have already died while preparing for the approaching storm.

Four people are confirmed dead in Jamaica while at least 20 others have died in Haiti in flooding as a result of Hurricane Melissa The hurricane made landfall on Tuesday as a category five storm in Jamaica,

On Sunday afternoon, Hurricane Gabrielle formed in the Atlantic. National Hurricane Center forecasters said at 5 a.m. Monday that its maximum wind speed was 90 mph but they expected it to strengthen into a major Category 3 hurricane by the evening.

Update: As of 5 p.m., Hurricane Humberto is expected to bring tropical storm conditions to Bermuda on Tuesday, according to the NHC. Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Imelda has formed and is heading northward, maintaining storm conditions for the central and ...

Editor's note: Follow USA TODAY's updates about Hurricane Kiko for Friday, Sept. 5. Hurricane Kiko is spinning over the Pacific Ocean as a major Category 4 storm on Sept. 4. In an 11 a.m. ET update, the hurricane said the risk of direct impacts from wind ...

A demolished church, roofs blown off homes, shattered windows and debris-strewn, impassable roads: Hurricane Melissa dealt a direct hit to Jamaica's southwestern coastal communities that face a long haul picking up the pieces."It's gonna be a long road back."