Tropical Storm Melissa is expected to intensify into a major hurricane over the weekend and bring catastrophic flash flooding and landslides to parts of the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Jamaica.
Here’s the latest forecast:
Melissa is expected to become a Category 4 hurricane by Sunday as it lashes the Caribbean with heavy rain and destructive winds
Hurricane conditions are expected to first hit southern Haiti on Saturday and then reach Jamaica on Saturday night or Sunday morning.
It could potentially be the strongest hurricane to impact Jamaica in more than 35 years and could potentially be a multi-day major hurricane event Sunday through Tuesday as Melissa strengthens and moves extremely slowly near or south of the island.
The storm has already led to the death of an elderly man in Haiti who was killed by a downed tree, according to The Associated Press.
On Friday evening, Tropical Storm Melissa continued to churn about 215 miles southeast of Kingston, Jamaica, moving at only 2mph. This extremely slow movement looks to be the trend for several more days, which gives it more opportunity to significantly intensify.
he current track shows Melissa becoming a hurricane on Saturday and a major hurricane on Sunday –and then undergoing rapid strengthening through Monday becoming a Category 4.
Additional strengthening is possible early next week as it slowly moves south of Jamaica through Tuesday.
Confidence is increasing that Melissa will be a multi-day major hurricane event for Jamaica beginning Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning and lasting through Tuesday.
A major hurricane lashing the island for so many days will lead to extensive wind damage and widespread power outages.
It could be the strongest hurricane to impact Jamaica in more than 35 years — when Hurricane Gilbert, also a Category 4 storm, battered the island in 1988.
Roughly 15-25 inches of rain is expected across portions of southwestern Haiti and eastern Jamaica through Monday, with locally higher amounts possible.
About 6 to 12 inches of rain is expected across the rest of Haiti and into the southern part of the Dominican Republic. Significant, life-threatening flash flooding and numerous landslides are a possibility in these areas through the weekend into early next week.
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