Superstorm Melissa's gusts reached record speeds just before the storm made landfall in the Caribbean last month, according to data recording the storm's developments.
The information was collected when a "storm hunter" aircraft of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released a series of weather measuring devices into the eye of the storm, according to a statement from the National Center for Atmospheric Research under the US National Science Foundation (NSF NCAR).
The measuring devices released into the center of the storm are called dropsonde, with small parachutes and sent 2 to 4 measurements per second before falling into the sea.
dropsonde is the only device that can simultaneously record pressure, temperature, humidity and wind speed. Data from these devices is used for weather forecasts and emergency warnings.
When you observe a Category 4 or Category 5 storm, you cant let the plane get too close to the surface, because its extremely dangerous. However, you need to know what is happening close to the seawater, where people and property are most severely affected. dropsonde provides information that no other device can get, and has been used for decades," said Associate Professor Terry Hock of NSF NCAR, dropsonde's manager.
A droppsonde released into super typhoon Melissa recorded gusts of 406 km/h just before it fell into the sea.
NOAA researchers have since contacted NSF NCAR to confirm whether this is the strongest wind speed ever recorded by droppsonde.
When NOAA saw this unusual number, they contacted us and asked, Is this data reliable? - Holger vomel, senior scientist at NSF NCAR, a member of the dropsonde program, said.
To verify, Mr. vomel and his colleagues checked the data using quality control software. The team also confirmed that the 2025 season's 406 km/h wind gusts of Melissa are a completely physically feasible value, consistent with the development of hurricanes and previous hurricane models. The assessment results confirmed the data as accurate.
The previous record of strongest gusts recorded by dropsonde was in 2010, when super typhoon Megi created a strong wind flow of 399 km/h in the western Pacific. Researchers predicted that stronger winds would be recorded during Hurricane Katrina, but the data in this storm had major errors and could not be used, according to NSF NCAR.
"The pilots and researchers really took their lives to collect this data. They are heroes and we are honored to help ensure that the data they collect is accurate," said Mr. vomel.
Superstorm Melissa, considered the strongest storm of 2025, caused catastrophic damage in the Caribbean in late October.
Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Jamaica as a Category 5 hurricane before heading towards Cuba, the Bahamas, the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Dozens of people, mostly in Jamaica and Haiti, have died in the storm.
