Category 5 Hurricane Melissa is barreling toward Jamaica after rapidly intensifying with unprecedented speed over the weekend. Forecasters warn this storm could dump up to 40 inches (1,000 millimeters) of rain on the island nation, triggering catastrophic flash floods and numerous landslides.

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) expects Melissa to make direct landfall in Jamaica early Tuesday morning. The predicted path of this slow-moving storm shows a northeastward curve as it crawls over the island, making landfall again in Cuba around 2 a.m. ET Wednesday. By 2 p.m. that day, Melissa should reach the Lucayan Archipelago—a chain of islands that includes the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos—making its third landfall in three days.

As of 8 a.m. ET Monday, the Category 5 hurricane had maximu

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