Hurricane Melissa strengthens into a powerful Category 4 storm

The Caribbean is bracing for the impact of Tropical Storm Melissa which formed in the Atlantic Ocean CBS News meteorologist Jessica Burch has more details The Caribbean is bracing for the impact of Tropical Storm Melissa which formed in the Atlantic Ocean CBS News meteorologist Jessica Burch has more details Watch Video Hurricane Melissa now Category begins assault on Jamaica Melissa strengthened rapidly into a Category hurricane on Sunday and was forecast to bring life-threatening and catastrophic flash flooding and landslides to Jamaica and the southern parts of Haiti and the Dominican Republic over the next scarce days the Miami-based National Hurricane Center warned Hurricane Melissa the th named storm of the Atlantic season isn t expected to have major impacts on the mainland United States but it could be the strongest system this season Melissa s forecast and path As of Sunday night Melissa s core was about miles south-southwest of Kingston Jamaica and about miles south-southwest of Guantanamo Cuba the hurricane center announced Maximum sustained winds were mph with hurricane-force winds extending several miles from the storm s center and tropical storm-force winds extending miles It was inching west at mph CBS News Melissa is now considered a major hurricane which is defined as a Category or higher having winds of at least mph It was forecast to remain a major hurricane when it makes landfall in Jamaica later this week the hurricane center noted It was forecast to move near or over Jamaica during the weekend through Tuesday across southeastern Cuba by Tuesday night and then across the southeastern Bahamas by the middle of the week When Melissa makes landfall peak storm surge accompanied by destructive waves could reach to feet above ground level according to the NHC CBS News Melissa could be the the bulk powerful hurricane to hit Jamaica CBS News Philadelphia meteorologist Andrew Kozak declared Saturday The island s terrain makes it even worse Kozak disclosed Jamaica s mountains force the air to rise and that creates more rain The strongest hurricane to hit Jamaica was Gilbert in Kozak announced which killed people and caused more than million in damage Jamaica Haiti and eastern Cuba should brace for catastrophic rainfall up to nearly feet of rain CBS News weather anchor Lonnie Quinn explained Friday Mountainous terrain there s going to be mudslides I am fearful for what we will find by the time we get into next week for this portion of the Caribbean On top of that he warned the storm could be packing -mile-per-hour winds Jamaica I think is going to take the worst of it Quinn declared A satellite image of Hurricane Melissa in the Caribbean taken at p m Eastern Time on Oct NOAA NESDIS STAR Hurricane advisories A hurricane warning was in effect for Jamaica A tropical storm warning was issued for Haiti from north of Port-au-Prince to the frontier with the Dominican Republic A hurricane warning was also in effect for the Cuban provinces of Granma Santiago de Cuba Guantanamo and Holguin The governing body of Cuba has also issued a tropical storm warning for the Cuban province of Las Tunas The Naval Station Guantanamo Bay mentioned it has been moving non-mission-essential U S citizens off the island in groups ahead of severe weather from Melissa They will all be evacuated no later than Sunday morning the station noted on social media Each individual will be allowed one -pound bag and a carry-on item the station s Facebook post noted Stand by for more directions on when your zone will be called to the Windjammer to get orders CBS News Rainfall forecasts Melissa is expected to drop up to inches of rain on parts of southern Haiti the southern Dominican Republic and Jamaica through Tuesday with higher amounts achievable in chosen areas the hurricane center declared Eastern Cuba could see up to inches of rain Catastrophic flash flooding and landslides are probable across portions of southern Hispaniola and Jamaica forecasters disclosed Hispaniola is an island that includes Haiti and the Dominican Republic Additional heavy rainfall is likely beyond Tuesday the hurricane center revealed but uncertainty remains about the more extended forecast Source