A catastrophic Category 5 hurricane was bearing down on Jamaica on Monday, October 27 afternoon with sustained winds of up to 282kph (175mph), threatening to become the strongest storm the Caribbean island has ever experienced,

Today, Today, several developments occurred. Melissa changed into hurricane, before turning into a Category 5 hurricane. Then, it weakened to a Category 4 hurricane and eventually became a Category 3 hurricane before being downgraded to a Category 3 hurricane with sustained winds of 125 mph.

Hurricane Melissa has strengthened into a major Category 4 hurricane and could grow further. As much as 40 inches of rain are forecast in parts of the northern Caribbean.

The core of Hurricane Melissa made landfall Tuesday afternoon near New Hope, Jamaica, as the strongest storm in the nation's history. Now, it continues into Cuba.

Heavy floodwaters swept across southwestern Jamaica, winds tore roofs off buildings and boulders tumbled into roads Tuesday as Hurricane Melissa came ashore.

Category 5 Hurricane Melissa has displaced 900 families in Haiti, with 3,653 people in the Grand Sud region’s shelters as the Atlantic storm – one of the strongest on record – approaches nearby Jamaica.

Hurricane Melissa is expected to crash into Jamaica with a strength reserved for a tiny percentage of Atlantic hurricanes. A hurricane reaching Category 4 or 5 strength is quite a feat in itself. The two categories combined make up about 17 percent of all hurricanes in recorded history.