Tropical Storm Melissa was crawling through the Caribbean Sea early Friday, according to forecasters warning of "life-threatening flooding" for parts of Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica through this weekend.

Tropical Storm Melissa is expected to rapidly intensify over the weekend into a Category 4 hurricane, and could get even stronger. Tropical Storm Melissa is expected to rapidly intensify over the weekend into a Category 4 hurricane, according to the National Hurricane Center.

At 200 AM EDT (0600 UTC), the center of Tropical Storm Melissa was located near latitude 16.2 North, longitude 75.4 West. Melissa is drifting toward the north near 2 mph (4 km/h). A slow northward

In the Caribbean, Melissa is expected to rapidly intensify, posing a significant threat to Jamaica and Cuba with severe winds and heavy rainfall.