Overview
- As of Thursday, Melissa was drifting at about 3 km/h roughly 480 km southeast of Kingston, Jamaica, with sustained winds near 80 km/h, according to the National Hurricane Center.
- The NHC projects Melissa will reach hurricane strength around Saturday, with potential for faster strengthening early next week depending on its track.
- A hurricane watch is in effect for parts of Haiti and a tropical storm alert covers Jamaica, with agencies urging residents to follow official advisories and the forecast cone.
- Forecasts call for 12 to 25 cm of rain, with isolated totals above 30 cm across southern Haiti, southern Dominican Republic and eastern Jamaica through Saturday, bringing a high risk of flash floods and landslides.
- Track guidance remains split between a northward turn toward Hispaniola and Jamaica or a slow westward drift toward Central America, while Mexico reports no direct threat and the U.S. East Coast faces mainly rough surf next week.