Hurricane Melissa intensified to Category 5 status early Monday, October 27, with maximum sustained winds of 160 mph as the slow-moving storm brought destructive conditions including torrential rain, dangerous storm surge, and catastrophic flooding to the Caribbean, with Jamaica facing the greatest threat Monday through Monday night, the National Hurricane Center in Miami reported according to USA TODAY. The powerful hurricane had already killed at least four people across Haiti and the Dominican Republic by Saturday afternoon, AccuWeather reported.
The National Hurricane Center's forecast cone advisory stated that "the forecast track shows the most likely path of the center of the storm" but cautioned the projection "does not illustrate the full width of the storm or its impacts, and the center of the storm is likely to travel outside the cone up to 33% of the time." As of 8:00 a.m. Monday, USA TODAY reported Melissa's center was located 135 miles southwest of Kingston, Jamaica, 320 miles southwest of Guantanamo, Cuba, and 724 miles south of West Palm Beach, Florida, with atmospheric pressure at 913 millibars and westward movement at just 3 mph.
Forecasters told USA TODAY NETWORK the hurricane could intensify further over the next 12 to 24 hours while traversing exceptionally warm Caribbean waters south of Jamaica where low wind shear exists. The National Hurricane Center predicted Melissa will maintain major hurricane strength when striking Jamaica Tuesday morning, October 28, and southeastern Cuba Tuesday night through Wednesday, October 29, according to USA TODAY NETWORK.
Computer models show the system will not hit the southeastern United States or approach the East Coast, unlike previous storms Erin and Imelda, USA TODAY reported.
