Melissa increased into a near hurricane and is forecast to rapidly intensify into a possible Category 5 through portions of southern Hispaniola and Jamaica.
Oct. 24 Melissa increased into near-hurricane strength and is forecast to rapidly intensify this weekend into a possible Category 5 storm with life-threatening and catastrophic flash flooding and landslides through portions of southern Hispaniola and Jamaica.
Melissa increased to maximum sustained winds of 70 mph and was moving east-southeast at 1 mph. Melisa would be designated as a hurricane with winds of at least 74 mph, the National Hurricane Center said in its 8 a.m. EDT update.
Melissa was about 160 miles southeast of Kingston, Jamaica, and about 235 miles southwest of Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
„The exceptionally warm waters, reaching hundreds of feet deep, will act like jet fuel – providing extra energy for Melissa“, AccuWeather Lead Hurricane Expert Alex DaSilva said about Melissa. „The warmest water in the Atlantic basin is in the central Caribbean, in the direct path of this storm.
