At 8 p.m. Saturday, the National Hurricane Center issued an advisory stating that Category 2 Hurricane Melissa is in the Caribbean Sea, 130 miles southeast of Kingston Jamaica and 260 miles west-southwest of Port Au Prince Haiti. The hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of 100 mph, is moving west at 3 mph.

H urricane Melissa is expected to strengthen before possible landfall along the Caribbean Islands. WESH 2's award-winning First Warning Weather team is monitoring the tropical system and will continue to provide updates. Melissa was upgraded to a hurricane by the National Hurricane Center by 2 p.m. Saturday.

The storm was forecast to dump up to 25 inches of rain over Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica as it continues to strengthen this weekend.

At 5 a.m. Saturday, the National Hurricane Center issued an advisory stating that Tropical Storm Melissa is in the Caribbean Sea, 180 miles southeast of Kingston Jamaica and 245 miles southwest of Port Au Prince Haiti. The system is moving northwest at 3 mph, with maximum sustained winds of 65 mph.

Tropical Storm Melissa is lumbering through the Caribbean Sea and bringing a risk of dangerous landslides and life-threatening flooding to Jamaica and southern Hispaniola