Tropical Storm Melissa Forms in the Caribbean and Threatens Haiti as a Hurricane
Five-day forecast for Tropical Storm Melissa’s passage through the Caribbean. Melissa is currently located about 480 kilometers south of Port-au-Prince, with maximum sustained winds of 85 kilometers per hour.
Tropical Storm Melissa formed Tuesday in the Caribbean Sea, prompting heavy rain and wind warnings for Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and Jamaica , the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported. The NHC issued a hurricane watch for Haiti’s southern peninsula, from the border with the Dominican Republic to Port-au-Prince, while the Jamaican government activated a tropical storm watch for the entire island. Melissa is currently located about 300 miles south of Port-au-Prince, with maximum sustained winds of 52 mph (85 kph) and is expected to become a hurricane over the weekend.
The Miami-based agency said the storm is moving about 14 mph (22 kph) westward, although it is expected to turn northwest and northward over the next few days, approaching southwest Haiti and Jamaica later this week. It added that Melissa could have hurricane conditions in the Haiti watch area beginning Thursday and will drop between 5 and 10 inches of rain through Friday in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Rainfall is expected to continue through the weekend, although the NHC noted that “uncertainty about Melissa’s track and speed reduces confidence in exact amounts.”
“Preparations to protect life and property should be complete by Thursday,” it insisted. It added that it expects rainfall of between 1 and 3 inches (2.5 to 7.6 centimeters) in Aruba, Puerto Rico, and Jamaica through Friday, and warned of possible “flash and urban flooding throughout Puerto Rico” through at least that day. It also asked Cuba to pay attention to the latest bulletins to monitor the system’s path.
There have been 13 cyclones in the Atlantic so far this year: hurricanes Erin, Gabrielle, Humberto, and Imelda , and storms Andrea, Barry, Chantal, Dexter, Fernand, Jerry, Karen, Lorenzo, and Melissa , of which Chantal has been the only one to make landfall in the United States this year, where it caused two deaths in July in North Carolina. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicted an “above-normal” hurricane season, estimating between 13 and 18 tropical storms, of which between five and nine could develop into hurricanes.
Although tropical storm Melissa is in the Caribbean, the trajectory will generate possibe heavy rains, flooding and risk of landslides in Panama. SINAPROC has issued a nationwide Green Alert, a high level preventative measure on Oct 22, 2025.
