Melissa, with maximum winds of 70 mph and stronger gusts, should attain hurricane status later Oct. 25 and become a major hurricane by Sunday, the National Hurricane Center said Saturday morning. A tropical storm becomes a hurricane when its winds reach 74 mph.

Melissa is expected to become a major hurricane but will likely stay away from the East Coast even as it turns northward.

According to the National Hurricane Center's 4 a.m. Sunday advisory, Category 3 Hurricane Melissa is in the Caribbean Sea, 125 miles south-southeast of Kingston Jamaica and 280 miles west-southwest of Port Au Prince Haiti. The hurricane is moving to the west at 3 mph, with maximum sustained winds of 115 mph.

At 11 p.m. Saturday, the National Hurricane Center issued an advisory stating that Category 3 Hurricane Melissa is in the Caribbean Sea, 125 miles south-southeast of Kingston Jamaica and 280 miles west-southwest of Port Au Prince Haiti. The hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of 115 mph, is moving west at 3 mph.

After it lashes the Caribbean this weekend, there’s still uncertainty about where the storm will go next. Here are the scenarios, one day at a time.

The National Hurricane Center's 7 a.m. Sunday update reported that Category 3 Hurricane Melissa is in the Caribbean Sea, 125 miles south-southeast of Kingston Jamaica and 295 miles west-southwest of Port Au Prince Haiti. Packing maximum sustained winds of 120 mph, the hurricane is tracking west-southwest at 5 mph.

The NEXT Weather Team is tracking Hurricane Melissa as it spins through the Caribbean this weekend. Melissa intensified Saturday afternoon into a Category 1 hurricane. It will continue to strengthen before making landfall as a Major Category 4 hurricane in Jamaica on Tuesday.

The base commander on Saturday expanded a previous evacuation order to include “non-mission-essential U.S. citizens.”