So it topped out at a cat4 rather than a cat5 however I reckon that was largelly due to it starting an eyewall replacement cycle which has temporarily halted intensification. It has now completed so will start to reintensify. With the inflow channel to the SE and outflow to the NW the land interaction will do very little to affect the storm until the eyewall makes landfall. So expect no weakening until then, if anything the topography could concentrate the inner core of the storm and make it even more intense (albeit smaller).
I don't wish to use hyperbole, but this could be one of the most cataclysmic storms for a generation. It will be a cat4 or cat5 for a prolongued period of time for Jamacia; I expect possibly unprecedented devastation from this.
Originally Posted by: Quantum