Melissa is projected to approach Jamaica this weekend, make landfall by early next week, and be near or over eastern Cuba by the middle of next week.

Jamaica and other parts of the Caribbean are staring down what could become a catastrophic, days-long assault of extreme rainfall and damaging winds with a strengthening Tropical Storm Melissa expected to become a major hurricane over some of the hottest ocean water on the planet.

Forecasters warned of rapid intensification, with Melissa expected to reach hurricane strength later today and potentially major hurricane status by Sunday. The storm’s projected path shows Jamaica directly in its core wind field, with tropical-storm-force winds already extending up to 115 miles (185 km) from the center.

The storm sits 160 miles from Kingston, Jamaica and 325 miles from Port-Au-Prince, Haiti as of Saturday morning.

By early next week, we might be talking about a Category 5 hurricane, but widespread flooding is going to be the most impactful threat from Melissa. Here's how bad it could get in Haiti and Jamaica.

Tropical Storm Melissa is expected to bring days of heavy rain to the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Jamaica and may trigger life-threatening flash flooding, the National Hurricane Center says.

Tropical Storm Melissa is set to intensify this weekend, and Jamaica and other Caribbean islands are bracing for harsh weather, forecasters with the National Hurricane Center in Miami said Thursday morning.

Tropical Storm Melissa is crawling through the Caribbean Sea, threatening to unleash life-threatening flooding and mudslides across parts of the Caribbean later this week. This year’s Atlantic hurricane season is not over yet, and Melissa has plenty of time and fuel ahead.