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The Meteorological Service of Jamaica says a Hurricane Warning is now in effect for Jamaica, as Tropical Storm Melissa is expected to rapidly strengthen while moving closer to the island.
At 7:00 p.m., the centre of Tropical Storm Melissa was located near latitude 16.2 degrees North, longitude 74.6 degrees West, or about 360 kilometres southwest of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and about 254 kilometres southeast of Morant Point, and 310 kilometres southeast of Kingston.
Tropical Storm Melissa is moving slowly toward the north near 4 km/h and a turn toward the west slow is forecast on Saturday and will continue through Monday. It is expected to turn to the north and northeast on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Maximum sustained winds are near 100 km/h, with higher gusts.
The Met Service, in its 8 p.m. bulletin, said the system is now forecast to intensify rapidly over the next several days and will become a hurricane on Saturday and a major hurricane by Sunday.
Tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 220 kilometres from the centre.
On the forecast track, the centre of Melissa is expected to move from south to north over central Jamaica early next week and over eastern Cuba by the middle of the week.
Tropical Storm Melissa is expected to be a major rainfall producer over Jamaica, possibly producing as much as 300 to 400 millimetres or 12 to 16 inches for the island over the weekend, starting in eastern parishes and gradually spreading westward across the island during the course of next week.
As the storm moves closer to the island, strong, gusty winds reaching tropical storm force are expected to initially affect eastern parishes later Friday evening and continuing into the weekend across the island.
Hurricane force winds are also possible from as early as Sunday.
Small craft operators including fishers from the cays and banks are advised to remain in safe harbour until all warning messages have been lifted and wind and sea conditions have returned to normal.
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