Heavy rain is expected across Jamaica, where "precipitation totals from multiple models suggest that storm totals exceeding 24 inches and localized amounts above 30 inches are quite possible," noted meteorologists Bob Henson and Jeff Masters in their blog Eye on the Storm.

Why meteorologists are so concerned about Tropical Storm Melissa when it becomes a hurricane near Jamaica, Haiti, the Cayman Islands, and Cuba.

Melissa is expected to significantly strengthen by late Friday and over the weekend, when the storm could become a hurricane as early as Saturday.

We will be very fortunate if Melissa does not cause a humanitarian disaster, even as Florida is again in the clear of a strange 2025 hurricane season.

Tropical Storm Melissa is expected to begin intensifying soon. FOX Weather Hurricane Specialist Bryan Norcross says this could be a catastrophic situation for the Caribbean.

Tropical Storm Melissa grounded to a halt over the central Caribbean about 150 miles south of Jamaica and Haiti early Friday.