Tampa, Florida (WFLA) – Hurricane Melissa saw rapid intensification on Saturday, jumping from Category 2 to Category 4 by early Sunday morning, the National Hurricane Center said.
Melissa is moving west very slowly, only about 3 mph, and is now 110 miles south of Kingston, Jamaica, and 280 miles southwest of Guantanamo, Cuba. It is expected to continue westward until Sunday before turning toward the north-northeast on Monday.
Forecast models show Melissa moving over Jamaica on Tuesday, across Cuba on Tuesday night, and across the southeastern Bahamas on Wednesday.
“Conditions (in Jamaica) will deteriorate rapidly today,” Jimmy Rome, the centre’s deputy director, said on Sunday. “Be prepared to ride this for days.”
Because it is moving so slowly, the hurricane is expected to dump tons of rain on the region, with Jamaica and Hispaniola set to receive between 15 and 30 inches of rain. Eastern Cuba is also expected to receive significant amounts of rain, possibly between 6 and 12 inches, through Wednesday.
The National Hurricane Center said the rain could cause life-threatening flooding and landslides across the region, as well as dangerous storm surges along Jamaica’s southern coast.
Melissa is expected to continue to strengthen, potentially reaching Category 5 by Sunday night. While some volatility is possible, it is expected to make landfall in Jamaica as a major Category 4 hurricane.
Jamaica is under a hurricane warning while a hurricane warning has been issued for the southwestern Haiti Peninsula and the southeastern provinces of Cuba, including Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Guantanamo and Holguin.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Sunday that a hurricane watch in Cuba could be raised to warning level later Sunday.
Airports were closed and shelters were activated
The erratic, slow-moving storm killed at least three people in Haiti and a fourth person in the Dominican Republic, where another person is still missing.
The Jamaican government said Montego Bay’s main airport, Sangster International Airport, will close at midday local time on Sunday as the island’s National Emergency Agency activated Level 3 emergency protocol ahead of Melissa.
The island’s largest airport, Norman Manley International Airport in the capital, Kingston, closed at 9 p.m. on Saturday.
“With the slow movement of this system, it doesn’t allow you to recover. It will stay there, pouring water and it’s barely moving, and that’s a big challenge that we have to be aware of,” warned Evan Thompson, principal director of the Jamaica Meteorological Service.
“There is no place that will escape the wrath of this hurricane,” said Richard Thompson, acting director general of the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management.
He said that all members of the national response team are now on high alert.
More than 650 shelters have been activated in Jamaica. Officials said warehouses across the island were well equipped and thousands of food parcels had been pre-stocked for quick distribution if needed.
Communities isolated by rising water levels
Haitian authorities said that three people died as a result of the hurricane and five others were injured due to the collapse of a wall. There were also reports of rising river levels, flooding, and the destruction of a bridge due to collapsing river banks in St. Susan, in the northeast of the country.
Haitian officials said many residents remain reluctant to leave their homes.
The storm damaged about 200 homes in the areadominican republicWater supply networks were destroyed, affecting more than half a million customers. It also downed trees and traffic lights, caused two small landslides, and left more than two dozen communities cut off by floodwaters.
Melissa is the 13th storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to November 30.
The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted an above-normal season with between 13 and 18 named storms.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.