ByMarshall Shepherd,
Senior Contributor.
Tropical Storm Melissa, the thirteenth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, continues to meander slowly in the central Caribbean Sea. It is expected to become a major hurricane within the coming days, and some potentially dire scenarios are emerging for the region, particularly Jamaica and Haiti. Here’s the latest information as the weekend approaches, and why meteorologists are particularly concerned life-threatening potential with the storm.
On Friday morning, the National Hurricane Center wrote, “For all intents and purposes, Melissa is nearly stationary over the north-central Caribbean Sea….With Melissa located within a break in the mid-level ridge, the steering currents remain weak.” Maximum sustained winds are currently at 45 mph, but these values are expected to increase as the storm becomes a hurricane in the coming days.
By Saturday, Melissa is expected to intensify and become a hurricane. NHC wrote, "There will likely be just enough mid-level ridging building north of the storm to cause
