Melissa is not expected to make landfall in Florida or the U.S. The powerful storm is expected to make landfall on the island nation of Jamaica Tuesday morning. At 8 p.m., Melissa has maximum sustained winds of 175 mph and gusts of well over 200 mph. Melissa is a dangerously powerful Category 5 hurricane.

President DONALD TRUMP told reporters on Air Force One that the U.S. was prepared to help Jamaica “on a humanitarian basis” and that officials were “watching closely.” It may take days or weeks for the full scope of the damage and death toll to become known given widespread communication and power outages.

Melissa developed into a deadly Category 5 hurricane Monday, Oct. 27, and is expected to have historically catastrophic impacts on the northern Caribbean.

Forecasters said the colossal amount of rain dropped on parts of Florida east and north of Orlando was comparable to what the region saw from a hurricane in 2022, underscoring the state's vulnerability to extreme weather far beyond the tropical storms that brew offshore.

Joan Edghill of Ocoee worried about her 90-year-old uncle in Jamaica as the ferocious Category 5 Hurricane Melissa barreled toward the country where she was born.

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.