Melissa strengthened to a Category 3 on Saturday and is forecast to rapidly intensify into a Category 5 before making landfall in Jamaica Tuesday morning, the National Hurricane Center said. As of 11 p.m. ET, the storm was 125 miles off Kingston, crawling west at 3 mph with 115 mph winds over very warm waters and low wind shear. Jamaica faces a multi-day pounding of destructive winds, life-threatening storm surge and flash flooding, with widespread power outages likely. Deadly flooding and landslides are also expected in Haiti and the Dominican Republic as the storm tracks northward.

Prepared by Olivia Bennett and reviewed by editorial team.