The U.S. Air Force Reserve's 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, known as the "Hurricane Hunters," were forced to turn back at one point due to heavy turbulence after flying into the eye of Hurricane Melissa on Monday.

Melissa is forecast to become the first Category 5 landfall in the Atlantic Basin since Dorian roared into the Bahamas in 2019. There have been 32 Category 5 hurricanes in the Atlantic since the use of satellites began in 1966, with 13 of those having formed in the past nine years.

According to the NHC, the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, developed in 1971 by civil engineer Herbert Saffir and meteorologist Robert Homer Simpson, is a rating of 1 to 5 based on a hurricane's sustained wind speed and its potential for significant loss of life and damage.

Hours from landfall, Hurricane Melissa is also slow moving like Hurricane Harvey in 2017, which could mean catastrophic flooding.

Irma Weakens to Tropical Depression The National Hurricane Center downgraded Irma to a tropical depression late Monday as heavy rainfall continued across the southeastern U.S. Maximum sustained winds were 35 miles an hour.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Sept. 10 is considered the statistical peak of the Atlantic hurricane season. It is also a notable date for Floridians: eight years ago, Hurricane Irma made landfall in the Sunshine State, leaving behind widespread damage and flooding.

Hurricane Irma slapped South Florida on Sept. 10, 2017, with winds, rain and flooding. The storm blasted the paint off the Southernmost Point buoy in Key West. Flooded downtown Miami and Doral. Knocked out power for a record number of customers. Ate the ...