Hurricane Melissa, a powerful Category 5 storm with maximum sustained winds near 175 mph, is moving north-northeast at 2 mph and is expected to impact Jamaica tonight and Tuesday.
The hurricane’s core is forecast to move near or over Jamaica, bringing hurricane-force winds extending up to 30 miles from the center and tropical-storm-force winds reaching 195 miles.
Melissa is currently located about 150 miles southwest of Kingston, Jamaica, and about 330 miles southwest of Guantanamo, Cuba.
Minimum central pressure is 903 mb.
After passing Jamaica, Melissa is forecast to move across southeastern Cuba Tuesday night and the southeastern Bahamas on Wednesday.
Residents of Jamaica are advised to prepare for severe weather conditions, including destructive winds, heavy rainfall, and potential flooding as Melissa approaches.
Melissa is expected to bring rainfall of 15 to 30 inches to portions of Jamaica and additional rainfall of 8 to 16 inches for southern Hispaniola through Wednesday, with storm total local maxima of 40 inches possible.
Catastrophic flash flooding and numerous landslides are likely. For eastern Cuba, storm total rainfall of 10 to 15 inches, with local amounts to 20 inches, is expected today into Wednesday, resulting in life-threatening and potentially catastrophic flash flooding with numerous landslides.
Over the Southeast Bahamas, total rainfall of 4 to 8 inches is expected Tuesday into Wednesday, resulting in areas of flash flooding.