Hurricane Melissa’s powerful winds and drenching rains devastated Jamaica. But is its wrath a sign that we need a new designation for monster storms?

Hurricane Melissa is expected to weaken into an extratropical cyclone on Friday, Oct. 31, the National Hurricane Center said.

After tearing through the Caribbean, leaving destruction, flooding and more than 50 deaths so far, Hurricane Melissa is heading into the Atlantic.

Of all the hazards that hurricanes bring, storm surge is the greatest threat to life and property along the coast. It can sweep homes off their foundations, flood riverside communities miles inland, and break up dunes and levees that normally protect coastal areas against storms.

Hurricane Melissa is currently sustaining winds near 140 mph, and is expected to make landfall in Jamaica on Monday.

Hurricane Melissa followed what has unfortunately become a pattern for major storms: It formed late in the season, intensified rapidly, then stalled near the coast.

After Melissa moves away from Jamaica, Cuba is next in line for the powerful hurricane’s fury. Landfall is expected very early Wednesday morning, likely a couple hours after midnight, but impacts have already begun.

Hurricane Melissa became a Category 5 hurricane on Monday, and the U.S. Air Force Reserve is among the agencies keeping an eye on the storm.

At 5 p.m., Melissa was located about 80 miles south of the Central Bahamas. Melissa is not expected to make landfall in Florida or the U.S. The powerful storm made landfall on Jamaica Tuesday morning and on Cuba early Wednesday morning. It's expected to move across the Bahamas later today and pass near Bermuda late Thursday.