Hurricane Melissa rapidly intensified to a major hurricane southeast of Jamaica on Saturday evening.\u00a0 At 11:00 p.m. EDT on Saturday the center of Hurricane Melissa was located at latitude 16.4\u00b0N and longitude 75.9\u00b0W which put the center about 115 miles (185 km) south-southeast of Kingston, Jamaica.\u00a0 Melissa was moving toward the west at 3 m.p.h. (5 km\/h).\u00a0 The maximum sustained wind speed was 115 m.p.h. (185 km\/h) and there were wind gusts to 135 m.p.h. (215 km\/h).\u00a0 The minimum surface pressure was 967 mb.<\/p>\n
A Hurricane Warning is in effect for Jamaica.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n A Hurricane Watch is in effect for the Cuban provinces of Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Guantanamo, and Holguin.<\/span><\/p>\n A Hurricane Watch is in effect for the southern coast of Haiti from the border with the Dominican Republic to Port Au Prince.<\/span><\/p>\n A Tropical Storm Warning is also in effect for the southern coast of Haiti from the border with the Dominican Republic to Port Au Prince.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Hurricane Melissa rapidly intensified to a major hurricane on Saturday evening.\u00a0 A circular eye with a diameter of 20 miles (32 km) was at the center of Melissa\u2019s circulation.\u00a0 The eye was surrounded by a ring of thunderstorms and the strongest winds were occurring in that ring of storms.\u00a0 Bands of showers and thunderstorms were revolving around the center of Hurricane Melissa.\u00a0 Storms near the center of Melissa generated upper level divergence that pumped large quantities of mass away from the hurricane.\u00a0 The removal of large amounts of mass caused the surface pressure to decrease rapidly.<\/p>\n The size of the circulation around Hurricane Melissa increased on Saturday.\u00a0 Winds to hurricane force extended out 25 miles (40 km) from the center of Melissa\u2019s circulation.\u00a0 Winds to tropical storm force extended out 160 miles (260 km) in the eastern half of Hurricane Melissa.\u00a0 Winds to tropical storm force extended out 90 miles (145 km) in the western side of Melissa\u2019s circulation.<\/p>\n The Hurricane Intensity Index (HII) for Hurricane Melissa is 20.6.\u00a0 The Hurricane Size index (HSI) is 9.3 and the Hurricane Wind Intensity Size Index (HWISI) is 29.9.<\/p>\n Hurricane Melissa will move through an environment that will be favorable for intensification during the next 24 hours.\u00a0 Melissa will move over water where the Sea Surface Temperatures are near 30\u00b0C.\u00a0 It will move through a region where the upper level winds are weak and there will be little vertical wind shear.\u00a0 Hurricane Melissa will intensify during the next 24 hours.\u00a0 Melissa is likely to continue to intensify rapidly during the next few hours.\u00a0 Melissa could strengthen to category 5 on the Saffir-Simpson Scale.<\/p>\n Hurricane Melissa will move around the southern side of a high pressure system that is north of Cuba.\u00a0 The high pressure system will steer Melissa slowly toward the west during the next 24 hours.\u00a0 On its anticipated track, Hurricane Melissa will move slowly south of Jamaica on Sunday.\u00a0 The high pressure system will weaken on Monday and Melissa will move toward Jamaica<\/p>\n Hurricane Melissa is likely to drop very heavy rain on Jamaica, Haiti and parts of the Dominican Republic. Very heavy rain is likely to cause catastrophic floods in some locations.\u00a0 Hurricane Melissa will also produce very strong winds in Jamaica.\u00a0 Widespread electricity outages are likely.\u00a0 Melissa could produce a storm surge of up to 16 feet (5 meters) along the south coast of Jamaica.<\/p>\n Hurricane Melissa will also bring strong winds and locally heavy rain to eastern Cuba early next week.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Hurricane Melissa rapidly intensified to a major hurricane southeast of Jamaica on Saturday evening.\u00a0 At 11:00 p.m. EDT on Saturday the center of Hurricane Melissa was located at latitude 16.4\u00b0N and longitude 75.9\u00b0W which put the center about 115 miles (185 km) south-southeast of Kingston, Jamaica.\u00a0 Melissa was moving toward the west at 3 m.p.h. 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