Melissa is a beast among a string of monster Atlantic storms. Scientists explain

Hurricane Melissa, which struck Jamaica with record-tying 185 mph winds Tuesday, was a beast that stood out as extreme even in a record number of monster storms spawned over the last decade in a superheated Atlantic Ocean.

Melissa somehow shook off at least three different meteorological conditions that normally weaken major hurricanes and was still gaining power as it hit, scientists said, a bit amazed.

And while more storms these days are undergoing rapid intensification — gaining 35 mph in wind speed over 24 hours — Melissa did a lot more than that. It achieved what's called extreme rapid intensification — gaining at least 58 mph over 24 hours. In fact, Melissa turbocharged by about 70 mph during a 24-hour period last week, and had an unusual second round of rapid intensification that spun it up to 175 mph, scientists said.

“It's been a remarkable, just a beast of a storm," Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach said.

When Melissa came ashore it tied strength records for Atlantic hurricanes making landfall, both in wind speed and barometric pressure, which is a key measurement that meteorologists use, said Klotzbach and University of Miami hurricane researcher Brian McNoldy. The pressure measurement tied the deadly 1935 Labor Day storm in Florida, while the 185 mph wind speed equaled marks set that year and during 2019's Hurricane Dorian. Hurricane Allen reached 190 mph winds in 1980, but not at landfall.

Usually when major hurricanes brew they get so strong that the wind twirling in the center of the storm gets so intense and warm in places that the eyewall needs to grow, so a small one collapses and a bigger one forms. That's called an eyewall replacement cycle, McNoldy said, and it usually weakens the storm at least temporarily.

Melissa showed some signs of being ready to do this, but it never did, McNoldy and Klotzbach said.

Another weird thing is that Melissa sat offshore of mountainous Jamaica for awhile before coming inland. Usually mountains, even on islands, tear up storms, but not Melissa.

“It was next to a big mountainous island and it doesn't even notice it's there,” McNoldy said in amazement.

Warm water is the fuel for hurricanes. The hotter and deeper the water, the more a storm can power up. But when storms sit over one area for awhile — which Melissa did for days on end — it usually brings cold water up from the depths, choking off the fuel a bit. But that didn't happen to Melissa, said Bernadette Woods Placky, chief meteorologist for Climate Central, a combination of scientists and journalists who study climate change.

“It's wild how almost easily this was allowed to just keep venting,” Woods Placky said. “This had enough warm water at such high levels and it just kept going.”

Melissa rapidly intensified during five six-hour periods as it hit the extreme rapid intensification level, McNoldy said. And then it jumped another 35 mph and “that's extraordinary,” he said.

For meteorologists following it “just your stomach would sink as you’d see these updates coming in,” Woods Placky said.

“We were sitting at work on Monday morning with our team and you just saw the numbers just start jumping again, 175. And then again this morning (Tuesday), 185," Woods Placky said.

“It's an explosion,” she said.

One key factor is warm water. McNoldy said some parts of the ocean under Melissa were 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than the long-term average for this time of year.

Climate Central, using scientifically accepted techniques of comparing what's happening now to a fictional world with no human-caused climate change, estimated the role of global warming in Melissa. It said the water was 500 to 700 times more likely to be warmer than normal because of climate change.

A rapid Associated Press analysis of Category 5 hurricanes that brewed, not just hit, in the Atlantic over the past 125 years showed a large recent increase in those top-of-the-scale storms. There have been 13 Category 5 storms from 2016 to 2025, including three this year. Until last year, no other 10-year period even reached double digits. About 29% of the Category 5 hurricanes in the past 125 years have happened since 2016.

McNoldy, Klotzbach and Woods Placky said hurricane records before the modern satellite era are not as reliable because some storms out at sea could have been missed. Measuring systems for strength have also improved and changed, which could be a factor. And there was a period between 2008 and 2015 with no Atlantic Category 5 storms, Klotzbach said.

Still, climate science generally predicts that a warmer world will have more strong storms, even if there aren't necessarily more storms overall, the scientists said.

“We’re seeing a direct connection in attribution science with the temperature in the water and a climate change connection, Woods Placky said. ”And when we see these storms go over this extremely warm water, it is more fuel for these storms to intensify rapidly and push to new levels."

Science Writer Seth Borenstein has covered hurricanes for more than 35 years and has co-authored two books on them. Data journalist M.K. Wildeman contributed from Hartford, Connecticut.

The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

People walk along a road during the passing of Hurricane Melissa in Rocky Point, Jamaica, Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Waves splash in Kingston, Jamaica, as Hurricane Melissa approaches, Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

A man walks along the coastline during the passing of Hurricane Melissa in Kingston, Jamaica, Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

People walk along a road during the passing of Hurricane Melissa in Rocky Point, Jamaica, Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

A man walks in Kingston, Jamaica, as Hurricane Melissa approaches, Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Roger Penske and IndyCar found a Texas-sized “playground” in Jerry Jones’ neighborhood for a temporary street course to bring the series back to the Dallas-Fort Worth market.

Nearly three years after IndyCar last ran on the fast 1 1/2-mile oval at Texas Motor Speedway about 30 miles away, the open-wheel series will race Sunday on a 2.73-mile, 14-turn circuit on the streets of Arlington around the home stadiums of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys and MLB’s Texas Rangers.

“It’s iconic because we are here between the Cowboys and the Rangers real estate. To have this as our playground, you might call it, for a weekend is amazing,” Penske said. “We don’t have this kind of commitment any place that we go as we do here. The investment by the partners along with IndyCar is amazing.”

The Grand Prix of Arlington is the first of three new street races on the IndyCar schedule this season. It is also the start of a multiyear deal in North Texas that came together with the involvement of a pair of successful businessmen and showmen. Their relationships goes back to when Penske was chairman of the host committee for the Super Bowl played in Detroit in 2006, five years before one in Jones' then sparkling-new stadium.

The 89-year-old Penske acquired the racing series in January 2020 and this year marks his 60 years as a team owner, with more than 650 major race wins and 48 championships across multiple series. The 83-year-old Jones is a three-time Super Bowl champion owner, though the most recent title came three decades ago. whose Cowboys play in the stadium referred to as “JerryWorld” because of his desire for big events there.

AT&T Stadium was the site of the first championship game in the College Football Playoff era, an NCAA men’s Final Four and an NBA All-Star Game. This inaugural race comes three months before the first of nine scheduled World Cup matches there, the most for any of the 16 host markets this year for the world’s most-watched sporting event, and while work goes on inside the stadium to prepare for the installation of a grass field.

“Certainly we know what the World Cup’s going to be. But it is amazing what we’re going to do with IndyCar,” Jones said. “There’s no way to that you can present any better, any classier, with any more fan-friendly presentation that’s been put right out here.”

During a ribbon-cutting this week for IndyCar's longest street course, Jones said he couldn’t believe what he was seeing and how everything came together — from the track trimmed with paint schemes recognizing the NFL and MLB franchises partnering with IndyCar, to the grandstands and hospitality areas throughout Arlington’s entertainment district. The area is just off Interstate 30 halfway between the downtown areas of Dallas and Fort Worth, a metroplex with more than 8 million residents.

“This thing has been done first class. And no detail has been spared,” said Jones, who also expressed his excitement for the event's future. "One thing for sure, Roger Penske, they wanted first impressions to be the right one."

A double-sided pit is set up on the road between AT&T Stadium and Globe Life Field, where the Rangers are about to begin their seventh season. There are a couple of curves into a horseshoe turn in the Cowboys' parking lot that will lead drivers into a 0.9-mile straight where speeds could reach 190 mph and goes between the MLB team's current and old stadiums. Both of those baseball venues have hosted two World Series.

“I think this is the new standard, this is what IndyCar needs to stick to,” six-time series champion Scott Dixon said.

“The build of the track, it’s all the attention to detail here. I think it’s very, very impressive,” driver Marcus Ericsson said. “I think this really raises the standard of IndyCar racing."

Texas Motor Speedway hosted 36 IndyCar races from the track's opening in 1997 until Josef Newgarden won the last race there April 2, 2023 — and also the previous one in 2022. The series raced on that high-banked track twice a year from 1998-2004, including six season finales in a row.

The five drivers who combined to win the last 10 IndyCar races at TMS, where laps could be more than 200 mph, are racing in Arlington.

“I've got a lot of fond memories obviously," said Dixon, who won three of those races, and five overall at the track.

“It’s great to be back. I loved the Texas Motor Speedway. Selfishly as a driver, I wish you could go everywhere,” said three-time TMS winner Newgarden, who also won last week in Phoenix. “I would love to race there and here. But if we’re not going to be there, I’m happy that we have this event. I’m certainly really pleased with what they’ve put on here.”

Ericsson, in his eighth IndyCar season and making his 117th start, will be on the pole for the first time after a lap of 104.158 mph in the final round of qualifying Saturday. He never had a pole in 97 F1 races from 2014-18.

The green flag for Sunday's race was moved up to 11 a.m. local time (CDT), from 12:20 p.m., because of the forecast of 25-35 mph winds later in the day, with the potential for gusts of 40 mph or more.

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

A lone auto race fan watches practice runs for the IndyCar Grand Prix of Arlington auto race, Saturday, March 14, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Driver Marcus Ericsson holds the pole position trophy for the IndyCar Grand Prix of Arlington auto race, Saturday, March 14, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Indy NXT cars drive through Turn 1 during a practice session at ATT Stadium, Friday, March 13, in Arlington, Texas. (Associated Press/Stephen Hawkins)

IndyCar driver Josef Newgarden answers questions during a media session inside ATT Stadium, Friday, March 13, in advance of the Grand Prix of Arlington on a temporary street course outside the stadium, which is also being prepared for hosting nine World Cup soccer matches later this year, in Arlington, Texas. (Associated Press/Stephen Hawkins)

Driver Louis Foster (45) drives during practice for the IndyCar Grand Prix of Arlington auto race, Saturday, March 14, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Emergency crew moves driver Josef Newgarden's car after he hit a wall during practice for IndyCar Grand Prix of Arlington auto race, Saturday, March 14, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

FILE -Texas Rangers chief operating officer Neil Leibman, left, Penske corporation chairman Roger Penske, center, and Dallas Cowboys team owner Jerry Jones, right, attend a news conference in Arlington, Texas, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024, announcing the IndyCar Grand Prix of Arlington to be held in 2026. (AP Photo/Jerome Miron, File)