Earth has been dimming for decades, reflecting less light back into space—and the amount of light reflected by the Northern Hemisphere is decreasing more quickly than that of the Southern Hemisphere,

At 10:00 this morning, the National Hurricane Center reported that maximum sustained winds had reached 185 miles an hour—surpassing those of any other storm this year, along with Hurricane Katrina.That combination of high winds and creeping progress makes Melissa both unusual and unusually dangerous.

The eyewall’s destructive winds may cause total structural failure, particularly in higher elevations, leading to widespread infrastructural damage, prolonged power and communication outages, and isolated communities.