Hurricane Melissa’s powerful winds and drenching rains devastated Jamaica. But is its wrath a sign that we need a new designation for monster storms?

Category 6 is the new hurricane normal. Why scientists say we need to rethink what we know about storms - Human-caused climate change is making major hurricanes like Melissa much stronger, faster and

So far, the Atlantic has seen 13 named systems during hurricane season, with Erin, Humberto and Melissa reaching Category 5—the strongest rating on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, which reflects a given storm’s maximum sustained wind speeds.

Jamaica faces damaging winds and heavy rainfall Sunday and Monday that could trigger catastrophic and life-threatening flash floods and landslides.

The scale of the devastation caused by Hurricane Melissa is emerging, with dozens of people known to have died in Haiti and four deaths reported in Jamaica - and the storm is now approaching the Bahamas.

Hurricanes are classified on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, which ranks storms based on their sustained wind speeds and estimates potential damage. The scale has five categories, ranging from Category 1,

The strongest storm to directly hit Jamaica before Melissa was Hurricane Gilbert in 1988, which made landfall as a category four hurricane, according to the US National Weather Service. Damaging winds and heavy rain have hit eastern Cuba, according to the latest update from the National Hurricane Center.

Hurricane Melissa has hit Cuba after leaving a trail of destruction in Jamaica, though the full extent of its impact remains unclear. Watch and follow live below.