Tropical Storm Melissa, which formed over the Caribbean on Tuesday, is expected to bring lots of rain to the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Jamaica but its path beyond that isn’t clear, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center said Wednesday morning.
Melissa, the 13th named storm of the Atlantic season, isn’t expected to have major impacts on the mainland United States, the center said Tuesday, but the uncertainty over its track remained on Wednesday.
Here’s what to know about Tropical Storm Melissa:
Tropical Storm Melissa forecast and path
As of 5 a.m. EDT Wednesday morning, Melissa’s center was some 305 miles south-southwest of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and was moving west-northwest at about 7 mph, the hurricane center said. Maximum sustained winds were 50 mph, according to the center, with tropical storm force winds extending outwards up to 1o5 miles from the storm’s core.
On the forecast track, Melissa is “expected to approach Jamaica and the southwestern portion of Haiti later this week,” the hurricane center said, and the storm could become a hurricane Thursday.
A hurricane watch is place for the southwestern peninsula of Haiti from the border with the Dominican Republic to Port-Au-Prince., and a tropical storm watch is in effect for Jamaica.
Nikki Nolan / CBS News
Rainfall forecasts
“Melissa is expected to bring 5 to 10 inches of rain to the southern Dominican Republic, southern Haiti, and eastern Jamaica through Saturday, with locally higher amounts possible, the center said. “Additional heavy rainfall is possible beyond Saturday,” it continued, but uncertainty over the storm’s track and speed means there’s less confidence in exact totals at that point. Significant flash flooding and landslides are possible, the center added.
“Across the northern Dominican Republic, northern Haiti, and western Jamaica, 2 to 4 inches of rain are expected through Saturday,” the center noted. “For Aruba and Puerto Rico, 1 to 3 inches are expected through the same period. Flash and urban flooding will be possible through at least Saturday.”
A spaghetti model from Wednesday morning shows multiple possibilities for Melissa’s path. Many versions of the model show the storm passing over Haiti, though it’s also possible Melissa travels over Cuba or turns toward Central America.
Nikki Nolan / CBS News
Will Tropical Storm Melissa impact the U.S.?
Tropical Storm Melissa is currently unlikely to impact the mainland United States, the hurricane center said Tuesday.
The spaghetti model for the storm doesn’t show it approaching South Florida or the rest of the U.S. mainland.
