Melissa is expected to bring total rainfall of 15 to 25 inches to portions of southern Hispaniola and Jamaica through Tuesday, with local maxima of 35 inches possible across the Tiburon Peninsula of Haiti.

Historic, life-threatening flash flooding and landslides are expected in portions of Jamaica, southern Haiti and the Dominican Republic through the weekend, the NHC said. Peak storm surge heights could reach 9 to 13 feet above normal tide levels in Jamaica, accompanied by large and powerfully destructive waves.

Invest 98L in the eastern Caribbean is expected to strengthen into a tropical depression or tropical storm over the next few days.

Melissa has strengthened into a Category 5 storm according to the National Hurricane Center. Rapid intensification is expected to continue over the next few days. The National Hurricane Center expects Melissa to rapidly intensify into a major hurricane by the end of the weekend.

Tropical Storm Melissa is forecast to linger in the Caribbean for several days. As the storm meanders over the very warm sea water Melissa is likely to gain strength. The National Hurricane Center shows the storm reaching hurricane strengthen sometime this weekend.

Tropical Storm Melissa's forecast is filled with uncertainty, prompting some dire worst-case scenarios for Caribbean islands.

An unusual late-season disturbance churning through the central Caribbean has meteorologists on high alert, with formation probabilities reaching 90%—among the highest forecasts issued this season. The system,

Now, as a weakened category 2 storm, there have been some impacts felt in the Bahamas, with Melissa tracking toward Bermuda on Thursday. Beyond that, as can be fairly typical, Melissa will weaken so that it will no longer be a hurricane or tropical storm as it moves into the North Atlantic.