As the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season gets under way, the National Hurricane Center is changing the way it displays its watches and warnings. The new graphic will now cover inland communities as well as the coastline, with the stated goal of helping everyone stay more vigilant no matter how far from the water they happen to live. It is a small visual change with a large intent, aimed at people who might otherwise assume the danger stops at the shore.
The adjustment comes on the heels of an unusually quiet year for the mainland. In 2025, no hurricanes struck the United States, the first time that had happened since 2015. Even so, forecasters were quick to stress that a calm season for the country does not mean storms spared the wider region, and South Florida in particular remains closely tied to its neighbours across the water.
One storm in particular left a deep mark far from Florida's beaches. Hurricane Melissa devastated Jamaica, and a father and daughter who had struggled to reach one another after it passed offer a window into how the island is faring now. For 86-year-old Albert Steven, who has lived through a long list of hurricanes, Melissa turned out to be something else entirely.
Steven had weathered Gilbert back in 1988 and witnessed the destruction of Andrew in 1992, yet the Category 5 Melissa still took his breath away. He said he simply could not believe that a wind could be so fierce, even with the doors and windows buttoned up against it. He rode out the storm in Argyle Mountain, in the parish of Westmoreland, as it tore its way across the island around him.
The sheer strength of the system was historic. Melissa struck Jamaica with winds of 185 miles per hour, tying it for the strongest landfalling Atlantic hurricane on record by wind speed. For his daughter, Kamali Stephen, the days that followed were agonizing, and she described herself as devastated, unable to eat or sleep while the storm and its aftermath played out and she waited for any word from home.
In the days after the storm cleared in late October, Kamali could not find her father at all. When she finally managed to reach him, it came as a relief, though she said she remained deeply concerned and felt she needed to get to him in person. The two now sit side by side in South Florida, yet Steven still plans to return to Jamaica one day, even if it means riding out another storm there.
That resolve has reshaped the way Kamali approaches the season ahead. She said she is not only getting her own supplies ready but also preparing to help others back in Jamaica, having learned a great deal the year before. The reasons for that caution were laid bare by the toll, as Melissa was blamed for 45 deaths and nearly 9 billion dollars in losses in Jamaica, while overall at least 50 other deaths were attributed to the storm.