Melissa Rages as Cat 5 Hurricane, Sparks Intense Warnings Across Gulf Coast

In the past week, listeners across the United States have been closely watching several high-impact weather events, but no recent reports from the National Weather Service or major meteorological networks have described a confirmed derecho—a widespread, long-lived, and destructive windstorm associated with a line of rapidly moving thunderstorms—impacting the country within the last seven days. Instead, much of the significant weather attention has been focused on Hurricane Melissa, which has captured national headlines and the attention of storm trackers with its rapid intensification and dramatic impacts, particularly in areas near the Gulf Coast.

Hurricane Melissa achieved Category 5 status late on October 26, 2025, with the Colorado State University Satellite Library providing impressive satellite imagery showing intense lightning erupting within the eyewall as the hurricane churned just offshore. According to the CIRA Satellite Library, “lightning erupts within the eyewall of Hurricane Melissa” was documented on October 27, highlighting the extreme instability and power in the system’s core. NOAA aircraft missions investigating the storm encountered severe turbulence, underscoring just how intense these atmospheric conditions became as the storm neared landfall, as reported by the National Hurricane Center.

While Melissa was not technically a derecho, the storm brought widespread and damaging winds over a large area as it moved inland. Multiple power providers, including CenterPoint Energy, reported at the peak that roughly 169,000 customers were without power due to a combination of severe lightning and hurricane-force winds, most notably between the hours of 3 and 6 a.m. Crews worked around the clock to restore electricity as downed trees and debris compounded the difficulties. Social media was flooded with images and videos showing flattened neighborhoods, snapped power lines, and wind gusts well beyond 75 miles per hour in several communities.

Meanwhile, for those specifically watching for derecho conditions, meteorologists point out that, while the classic bow-echo signatures and rapid, progressive squall lines typical of derechos were absent, the fetch of damaging winds from Melissa’s periphery extended for hundreds of miles and, in some cases, closely resembled the kind of impacts listeners might associate with a derecho event.

With fall in full swing, residents in places like Amarillo, Texas, were also reminded by local media such as Mix 94.1 FM to stay prepared for sudden swings in weather—from unseasonably warm days to crashing cold fronts that can quickly bring wind and thunderstorms. However, severe straight-line wind episodes reported this week have been localized, not achieving the scale or longevity of a true derecho.

For ongoing updates on high-impact weather, it’s recommended to follow the National Weather Service, major atmospheric science centers, and your local emergency management office. Thank you for tuning in, and be sure to come back next week for more extreme weather coverage and science updates. This has been a Quiet Please production, and for more, check out Quiet Please Dot A I.

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