Hurricane Melissa is now a Category 5 hurricane, the National Hurricane Center announced.
Located about 130 miles south-southwest of Kingston, Jamaica, Melissa is moving toward the west at about 3 mph.
A slow turn toward the northwest and north is expected today and tonight before a northeastward acceleration beginning on Tuesday and through Thursday.
Melissa is expected to move near or over Jamaica tonight and Tuesday before going across southeastern Cuba Tuesday night, and across the southeastern Bahamas on Wednesday.
According to the NHC, data from an Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter aircraft indicate that maximum sustained winds have increased to about 160 mph.
Melissa is a Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.
The NHC said some strengthening is forecast today, with fluctuations in intensity likely before Melissa makes landfall on Hamaica early Tuesday.
“Melissa is expected to reach Jamaica and southeastern Cuba as a powerful major hurricane, and will still be at hurricane strength when it moves across the southeastern Bahamas,” the NHC said.
Destructive winds, storm surge, and catastrophic flooding will worsen in Jamaica through the day and into tonight, the NHC said.
A hurricane warning is in effect for Jamaica and the Cuban provinces of Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Guantanamo, and Holguin.
A hurricane watch is in effect for the southeastern and central Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands.
A tropical storm warning is in effect for Haiti and the Cuban province of Las Tunas.