Flooding rain: Melissa will continue to dump torrential rain over the northern Caribbean. The highest totals will happen in Jamaica, which could see feet of rain over the next few days. The eastern two-thirds of the island could pick up 20 to 30 inches of rain with isolated amounts of more than 40 inches in the eastern mountains. Much of southern Haiti could record up to a foot of rainfall while some spots in the far southwest could get more than 16 inches. Much of southern Cuba could also pick up 16 to 20 inches of rain this week.
Destructive wind: Melissa is a violent hurricane packing worst-case-scenario winds. Sustained winds near its center are expected to be around 160 mph at landfall over Jamaica Tuesday, with higher gusts. The winds racing up Jamaica’s mountains will be significantly stronger — gusts could reach higher than 200 mph.
Life-threatening storm surge: Jamaica will also bear the brunt of Melissa’s worst storm surge. Melissa’s powerful winds could push water up to 13 feet above ground level, especially late Monday into Tuesday.
Confidence is high that destructive, life-threatening impacts will occur with Melissa, especially in Jamaica.