By Bill Pan
Tropical Storm Melissa strengthened into a hurricane Saturday afternoon and is expected to rapidly intensify into a major hurricane, bringing heavy rain, catastrophic flooding, and landslides to parts of Jamaica and Haiti, forecasters said.
The system strengthened from a tropical storm into a hurricane Saturday afternoon, according to a 2 p.m. ET advisory from the National Hurricane Center (NHC). Meteorologists earlier in the day warned Melissa could reach Category 4 strength, delivering torrential rainfall and destructive winds.
“Rapid intensification is forecast to occur over the next couple of days, and Melissa is forecast to become a major hurricane by Sunday,” the agency said.
A hurricane warning is in effect for Jamaica, while a hurricane watch has been issued for Haiti’s southwestern peninsula—from the Dominican Republic border to the capital city of Port-au-Prince—according to the NHC.
Haiti’s disaster management authorities have reported at least three deaths, including two people killed in a landslide and another struck by a falling tree.
At 2 p.m. ET Saturday, the storm was moving west-northwest at about 1 mile per hour. The system’s center is located 143 miles southeast of Kingston, Jamaica, and 228 miles southwest of Port-au-Prince, according to the NHC.
Meteorologists expect the storm to turn North and Northeast on Monday and Tuesday. On that path, Melissa’s center could move near or over Jamaica during the weekend and early next week, and approach eastern Cuba by midweek.
Melissa is expected to bring 15 to 25 inches of rainfall to parts of Jamaica and southern Hispaniola—the island shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic—through Wednesday, the NHC said. The agency warned of “life-threatening and catastrophic flash flooding and landslides” across the region through the weekend.
For eastern Cuba, the NHC forecast 5 to 10 inches of rain, with localized amounts up to 15 inches through Wednesday, posing a threat of life-threatening flash floods and landslides. Additional heavy rainfall is likely beyond Wednesday.
Meanwhile, in the United States, strong to severe thunderstorms are expected to continue this weekend across parts of the South and Gulf Coast.
The National Weather Service has warned of severe weather across eastern Texas, Louisiana, and southwestern Mississippi, with storms capable of producing tornadoes, damaging wind gusts, and hail larger than 2 inches.
The storms have already knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of homes as of Saturday morning. According to PowerOutage.com, about 260,000 customers were without electricity early Saturday across southeastern Texas, including more than 150,000 outages in the Houston area.
