Hurricane Melissa is expected to weaken into an extratropical cyclone on Friday, Oct. 31, the National Hurricane Center said.

Of all the hazards that hurricanes bring, storm surge is the greatest threat to life and property along the coast. It can sweep homes off their foundations, flood riverside communities miles inland, and break up dunes and levees that normally protect coastal areas against storms.

The updates sent by friends and neighbors on WhatsApp confirmed what fisher Prince Davis already feared: Hurricane Melissa put a hole in the stern of his 50-foot (15-meter) fishing boat, and damaged the cabin and back deck.

Category 5 Hurricane Melissa has made landfall already in Jamaica and Cuba, as one of the strongest hurricanes to ever make landfall.

Hurricane Melissa became a Category 5 hurricane on Monday, and the U.S. Air Force Reserve is among the agencies keeping an eye on the storm.

I was sitting in the middle of a 10-mile-wide stadium of the gods. On all sides, hulking thunderstorms towered high above. Just miles in any direction, a hellish-monster creating unsurvivable conditions.

In Cooper City, Brittany and Dwayne Wolfe have offered up their home as a drop-off site for diapers and other necessities. The couple are the cofounders of The Greater Fort Lauderdale Diaper Bank, and many of the organization’s volunteers and supporters grew up in Jamaica or still have family on the island.

See how NOAA and U.S. Air Force “hurricane hunters” fly directly into powerful storms to collect critical weather data.

When we talk about hurricanes, the first number you usually hear is wind speed. That makes sense. Wind is what tears off roofs, knocks down trees, and turns debris into dangerous missiles. Wind kicks up waves and pushes storm surge onto beaches.