The National Hurricane Center continues to track Tropical Storm Melissa , which is expected to rapidly intensify into a potentially catastrophic hurricane in the Caribbean over the next few days.

Melissa was located about 215 miles southeast of Kingston, Jamaica, and 250 miles southwest of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph.

Forecasters warn the storm is expected to become a hurricane by Saturday and potentially a major hurricane by Sunday.

Melissa could intensify into an extremely strong Category 4 hurricane by early next week, with top sustained winds blowing at 140 to 145 mph.

The storm’s slow movement and projected track pose significant risks to Jamaica, Haiti and the Dominican Republic, the hurricane center says.

Forecasters predict “life-threateni

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