Tropical Storm Melissa is expected to bring catastrophic flash flooding and landslides to parts of the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Jamaica.

Though the full effects of Tropical Storm Melissa have yet to be felt in the Caribbean, Haiti’s disaster office said Friday three people have already died and another was injured in a landslide attributed to the storm’s heavy rains.

The National Hurricane Center's 5 p.m. Friday update reported that Tropical Storm Melissa is in the Caribbean Sea, 215 miles southeast of Kingston Jamaica and 225 miles southwest of Port Au Prince Haiti. Packing maximum sustained winds of 65 mph, it is tracking north at 2 mph. Melissa is expected to strengthen into a hurricane.

Tropical Storm Melissa is expected to become a major hurricane over the weekend. The storm is currently located in the Caribbean and is not expected to directly hit Florida. Jamaica and Haiti are under hurricane and tropical storm watches and warnings.

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 bring days of heavy rain to the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Jamaica and may trigger life-threatening flash flooding, the National Hurricane Center says.

Tropical Storm Melissa is forecast to grow into a major Category 4 hurricane as it threatens Jamaica and then Cuba, but its effects on Florida remain uncertain, according to the National Hurricane