Hurricane Melissa nears Jamaica with 180 mph winds, threatening historic destruction. Follow Newsweek's live blog.

According to the National Hurricane Center's 8 a.m. Tuesday advisory, Category 5 Hurricane Melissa is in the Caribbean Sea, 55 miles south-southeast of Negril Jamaica and 265 miles southwest of Guantanamo Cuba. With maximum sustained winds of 175 mph, the hurricane is moving to the north-northeast at 7 mph.

Melissa, a strong Category 5 hurricane, was within hours of landfall on the Caribbean island nation of Jamaica early Tuesday.

Melissa is not expected to make landfall in Florida or the U.S. The powerful storm is expected to make landfall on the island nation of Jamaica Tuesday morning. At 8 p.m., Melissa has maximum sustained winds of 175 mph and gusts of well over 200 mph. Melissa is a dangerously powerful Category 5 hurricane.

Melissa developed into a deadly Category 5 hurricane Monday, Oct. 27, and is expected to have historically catastrophic impacts on the northern Caribbean.