Melissa expected to strengthen this weekend

TAMPA, Fla. – Tropical Storm Melissa continues to have our attention in the Caribbean as it’s anticipated to undergo rapid intensification and become a hurricane. 

What we know:

As of the 11 a.m. advisory from the National Hurricane Center, the tropical storm is moving north with sustained winds of 70 miles per hour and is moving west northwest at one mile per hour. FOX 13 Meteorologist Nash Rhodes anticipates that this will become a hurricane “shortly.”

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He said it’s expected to go through rapid intensification in the next 24 to 48 hours, with it at some point becoming a major hurricane – possibly reaching Category 4 strength. 

The storm has been moving erratically over the past few days, which is why forecast models have had such a difficult time tracking this storm. But, Rhodes said it’s going to move generally to the north and west over the next few days as it approaches Jamaica. 

Dig deeper:

Jamaica is now under a hurricane warning. Tropical storm warnings are in effect for portions of Haiti, and they also have a hurricane watch in place for the island. 

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The island is expected to get quite a bit of rainfall and strong winds with a close passing storm regardless of an actual land falling event, Rhodes said. 

However, the storm will eventually be steered away by an upper level trough that will take it away from the United States and well east of Florida. The Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands will be carefully monitoring the storm as well as Hispaniola, Cuba and Jamaica in the near future. 

The Source: The information in this story was gathered by FOX 13 Metoerogists and includes details from the National Hurricane Center. 

Hurricanes