AUSTIN (KXAN) — Hurricane Melissa is currently a major Category 4 hurricane in the Caribbean Sea, and is expected to strengthen into a Category 5 storm in the next few hours (as of 3:30 p.m. Sunday).
Tropical Tracker: Hurricane Melissa is now a major cat. 4 Hurricane near Jamaica.
Melissa continues to move slowly west at 5 mph. Sea surface temperatures near Jamaica are the hottest in the Atlantic Basin in the upper 80s and low 90s, which is one of the main reasons Melissa is rapidly intensifying over the weekend.
The National Hurricane Center expects Melissa to make landfall in Jamaica early Tuesday morning as a Category 4 or Category 5 storm.
Rainfall totals are expected to be historic, with 20 to 30 inches of rain possible in the eastern half of Jamaica, and up to 40 inches isolated through midweek.
“Today’s damaging winds and heavy rain will cause catastrophic, life-threatening flooding and numerous landslides before potentially damaging winds arrive Monday night and Tuesday morning,” the National Hurricane Center notes.
By midweek, Melissa will hit eastern Cuba, with several other islands such as Turks and Caicos in the NHC forecast cone.
All over the United States
There is an elevated threat of severe weather for parts of the Gulf Coast through Sunday, with a low-level tornado threat and hail. Severe weather will be limited Monday through midweek, with general thunderstorms possible in parts of the southeast and central Plains.
An upper-level low pressure system will work through the Lower 48 this week, bringing mountain snow in the Rockies and heavy rain from the Pacific Northwest to New England.
A strong cold front will swing cooler than normal temperatures into states like Texas, which will finally receive fall weather. It’s time…