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.

In the Caribbean, Melissa is expected to rapidly intensify, posing a significant threat to Jamaica and Cuba with severe winds and heavy rainfall.

Melissa was 185 miles southeast of Kingston, Jamaica and producing maximum sustained winds of 45 mph as of 7 a.m. Friday. NHC forecaster Robbie Berg said Melissa was "nearly stationary," moving 1 mph east-southeast.

The National Hurricane Center's 11 p.m. Friday update reported that Tropical Storm Melissa is in the Caribbean Sea, 180 miles southeast of Kingston Jamaica and 245 miles southwest of Port Au Prince Haiti. Packing maximum sustained winds of 65 mph, it is tracking northwest at 3 mph.

October can be a dangerous month for Florida as storms tend to form in the Gulf and gain strength rapidly as sea temperatures are still high.

Melissa may be struggling now, but it is expected to rapidly intensify. It's also going to be a slow mover into early next week. Here's what that means for its forecast.

At 2 a.m. Saturday, the National Hurricane Center issued an advisory stating that Tropical Storm Melissa is in the Caribbean Sea, 170 miles southeast of Kingston Jamaica and 235 miles southwest of Port Au Prince Haiti. The system, with maximum sustained winds of 70 mph, is moving northwest at 3 mph.

Tropical Storm Melissa is forecast to rapidly intensify over the weekend, bringing life-threatening rainfall and destructive winds to parts of Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and Cuba. AccuWeather® hurricane experts now predict Melissa to make landfall in Cuba as a major hurricane next week,