Oct. 24 (UPI) -- Melissa intensified into near-hurricane strength and is forecast to rapidly increase this weekend into a possible Category 5 storm with life-threatening and catastrophic flash flooding and landslides through portions of southern Hispaniola and Jamaica.
Melissa rose to maximum sustained winds of 70 mph and was moving east-southeast at 1 mph, the National Hurricane Center said in its 11 a.m. EDT update. Melisa would be designated as a hurricane with winds of at least 74 mph
Melissa was about 155 miles southeast of Kingston, Jamaica, and about 235 miles southwest of Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
"The exceptionally warm waters, reaching hundreds of feet deep, will act like jet fuel - providing extra energy for Melissa," AccuWeather Lead Hurricane Expert Alex DaSilva said about Melissa. "The warmest water in the Atlantic basin is in the central Caribbean, in the direct path of this storm. Rapid intensification into a Category 5 hurricane is not out of the question this weekend."
A hurricane warning was in effect for Jamaica and a hurricane watch for the southwestern peninsula of Haiti from the border with the Dominican Republic to Port-Au-Prince.
