The Caribbean is on high alert for what is expected to evolve into a slow-moving hurricane that will unleash feet of rain and destructive winds on a region that has largely avoided any tropical activity so far this Atlantic hurricane season.

AccuWeather meteorologists have been tracking this area of low pressure since early October, and on Monday evening, dubbed it a tropical rainstorm to raise public awareness of the growing threat to lives and property.

Late morning on Tuesday, the National Hurricane Center upgraded the system to Tropical Storm Melissa. A hurricane watch is in effect for part of Haiti, while a tropical storm watch is in effect for Jamaica. Melissa was moving west-northwest at 7 mph with maximum sustained winds up to 50 mph as of Wednesday morning.

"The longer Melissa

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