Inside Hurricane Melissa’s eye: Jaw-dropping video shows storm’s eerie centre

Footage captured by the U.S. air force from inside the eye of Hurricane Melissa shows the Category 5 storm as it sweeps towards Jamaica and other Caribbean islands.

The 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, known as the Hurricane Hunters, flew into the storm on Monday, making multiple passes to collect weather data for the National Hurricane Center (NHC).

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The video shows Melissa’s looming walls encircling its compacted eye.

The storm is expected to make landfall Tuesday at its strongest over Jamaica, and to hit Haiti, Cuba and the southeastern Bahamas later on.

As of Monday afternoon, Melissa is officially the strongest storm of the year.

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Melissa is expected to bring 38 to 76 centimetres of rain across parts of Jamaica, with up to 102 centimetres possible in some areas.

Catastrophic flash flooding and numerous landslides are also likely, along with severe infrastructure damage to major roads and highways. Jamaica’s major airports, including Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay and Norman Manley International Airport in the capital, Kingston, are closed.

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As of Monday, more than 650 shelters were activated in Jamaica. Officials said warehouses across the island were well-stocked and thousands of food packages were pre-positioned for quick distribution if needed.