Hurricane Melissa is among the strongest hurricanes to have formed in the Atlantic Ocean since records were kept, ranking as one the most powerful storms in terms of both wind strength and pressure.

It also marks the first time in 20 years that three or more Category 5 hurricanes have developed over the Atlantic Basin in one season. The last time was in 2005, when Hurricanes Emily, Katrina, Rita, and Wilma all reached Category 5—breaking a record.

Hurricane Melissa— one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes ever recorded—is now off Cuba’s eastern coast, after leaving a trail of destruction across the large island and its much smaller neighbor, Jamaica.

Hurricane Melissa followed what has unfortunately become a pattern for major storms: It formed late in the season, intensified rapidly, then stalled near the coast.

Hurricane Melissa's deadly spin is visible from space. Satellite footage caught the hurricane in rotation on Tuesday (Oct. 28) as it wreaked destruction across the Caribbean. Imagery from the GOES-19 satellite shows "mesovortices" surrounding the hole,