After the 5 a.m. update, had the storm basically “stationary”, the latest update has Melissa moving east-southeast at 1 mph.

Melissa is expected to continue moving north or north-northeast over the next day, then make a sharp turn westward over the weekend through Monday. This track will bring Melissa closer to Jamaica and southwestern Haiti over the weekend.

Melissa’s maximum sustained winds are near 45 mph with tropical-storm-force winds extending outward up to 140 miles to the east of the center.

Gradual strengthening is expected throughout the day and into the weekend. Melissa is expected to reach hurricane strength by Saturday and become a major hurricane by the end of the weekend.

Tropical-storm-force winds extend up to 140 miles east of the storm’s center. The estimated minimum

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