Jamaica and other parts of the Caribbean are staring down what could become a catastrophic, days-long assault of extreme rainfall and damaging winds with a strengthening Tropical Storm Melissa expected to become a major hurricane over some of the hottest ocean water on the planet.

Melissa unfortunately looks to make up for lost time heading into the weekend, posing a serious and historic threat of major hurricane impacts on Jamaica, Cuba, and the Bahamas — but little to no risk...

“At this time, we expect Melissa to stay well east of Florida," said AccuWeather Lead Hurricane Expert Alex DaSilva via email Oct. 23.