ORLANDO, Fla. - Hurricane Melissa is barreling toward Jamaica and is expected to make landfall as a Category 5 hurricane. Millions on the island are getting ready in the final hours before it hits. That includes some trapped tourists FOX 35 spoke with.

Melissa is not expected to make landfall in Florida or the U.S. The powerful storm is expected to make landfall on the island nation of Jamaica Tuesday morning. At 8 p.m., Melissa has maximum sustained winds of 175 mph and gusts of well over 200 mph. Melissa is a dangerously powerful Category 5 hurricane.

Melissa could briefly bring a swell and rough seas to the U.S. East Coast after it passes the Bahamas later in the week, but because of the angle and speed at which it's moving off into the Atlantic, Roth said any coastal impacts should be short-lived.

Hurricane Melissa, the most powerful storm of the 2025 Atlantic season, is poised to strike Jamaica Tuesday as possibly its worst storm in recorded history.

Life-threatening and catastrophic flash flooding and landslides are expected in portions of Jamaica and southern Hispaniola on Tuesday.

Melissa is a deadly Category 5 hurricane and is expected to become to worst hurricane in Jamaica's history before it travels north to Cuba.

“Melissa is expected to reach Jamaica and southeastern Cuba as an extremely dangerous major hurricane, and it will still be at hurricane strength when it moves across the southeastern Bahamas” on Wednesday, the hurricane center said in its 5 a.m. advisory.