As Hurricane Melissa barreled towards Jamaica, a Florida hurricane specialist’s visceral reaction underscores the severity of the storm.

Hurricane Melissa has weakened slightly but remains an extremely dangerous Category 5 storm that’s hammering western Jamaica with 160 mph winds. Melissa is moving to north-northeast at 8 mph bringing catastrophic winds, flash flooding and storm surge to the island.

Meteorologist and storm chaser Matthew Cappucci tells the BBC that Melissa, a category five hurricane, will be the strongest to hit Jamaica since records began. He talks about Hurricane Gilbert, which killed dozens of people in Jamaica in 1988, and he says it was a category three when it made landfall.

This special report from Machilipatnam details the aftermath of Cyclone Motha, with reporter Mishri Patil on the ground covering the extensive damage and ongoing restoration efforts. According to the reporter,

Hurricane Melissa just touched down in Jamaica a few hours ago ... but its effects were felt by meteorologist Matthew Cappucci, who vomited on camera while flying through the eye of the storm.

The National Weather Service office in Midland says 70 mph wind gusts and quarter-sized hail are possible as storms roll in Friday afternoon.

COMAL COUNTY, Texas – As storms rolled through Comal County overnight, a KSAT crew captured the resulting damage. Wind, rain and even hail were seen in parts of Bexar County, Atascosa County and the Hill Country. Comal County saw approximately 1 to 2 inches of rain, while San Antonio saw 1 to 3 inches.