TAMPA, Fla. – Hurricane Melissa is expected to make landfall on Tuesday in Jamaica between 10 a.m. and noon Eastern Standard Time.
As of 5 a.m. on Tuesday, Hurricane Melissa was located about 115 miles to the west-southwest of Kingston, Jamaica, and was moving off to the north-northeast at 5 mph.
The Category 5 hurricane had maximum sustained wind speeds of 175 miles per hour.Â
Hurricane Melissa has been slowly spinning to the south of Jamaica, moving erratically over the warm waters of the Caribbean. But now the storm is interacting with a cold front that is starting to pull the storm to the north-northeast and eventually northeast on a path that will likely slice through the middle of the island.
RELATED: Jamaicans living in Tampa Bay are watching Hurricane Melissa closely
Hurricane warnings remain in effect for Jamaica, portions of eastern Cuba and the southeastern and central Bahamas.
FOX 13 Meteorologist Dave Osterberg said the area of the island that will see 175-mile-per-hour winds is small, which is good news because it is a relatively small storm in size.
However, the eastern side of the island, around Kingston, will experience 100-mile-per-hour wind gusts, but the water is the main concern.
Osterberg said Hurricane Melissa is expected to dump 15–30 inches of rain on the island and create a 13-foot storm surge.
A turn to the northeast with an increase in forward speed is expected later on Tuesday, followed by a faster northeast motion on Wednesday and Thursday.
The Source: This article was written with information from FOX 13 Meteorologist Dave Osterberg’s forecast, the National Hurricane Center and FOX Weather.Â