Hurricane Melissa barrels toward Jamaica as a Category 5 monster storm, threatening record winds, floods, and catastrophic damage.

What was already a dangerous and deadly Tropical Storm Melissa strengthened into a hurricane Saturday, and forecasts have become even more dire for potentially catastrophic impacts across Jamaica, Haiti,

U.S. forecasters issued a hurricane warning for Jamaica Saturday as Storm Melissa reached hurricane strength, threatening catastrophic flooding in the northern Caribbean.

Tropical Storm Melissa strengthened Friday afternoon and is likely to become a major hurricane by the start of next week.

The slow-moving storm was expected to drop torrential rain, up to 25 inches, on Jamaica. A similar forecast was issued for the southern regions of Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

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 will likely intensify into a hurricane in a matter of hours. Once the storm has its structure in place, rapid intensification is forecast over the near-record warm water.