Florida, Melissa and Hurricane
Digest more
With the 11 p.m. Thursday advisory, Melissa was about 150 miles southeast of Kingston, Jamaica and 270 miles southwest of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, creeping north at only 3 mph and packing maximum sustained winds near 45 mph. Tropical-storm-force winds extended outward up to 140 miles from the center, underscoring the storm's broad reach.
FOX 35 Orlando on MSN
Why did it rain so much in Brevard, Lake counties? High pressure and Hurricane Melissa
Several inches of rain fell in parts of Brevard County and Lake County in Florida, causing major flooding along streets, roadways, and in some neighborhoods.
Hurricane Melissa is forecast to strengthen — possibly as high as Category 5 — as it meanders around the Caribbean in the next several days.
Melissa intensified Saturday afternoon into a Category 1 hurricane. It will continue to strengthen before making landfall as a Major Category 4 hurricane in Jamaica on Tuesday. The storm will drop two to three feet of rain on the island, creating catastrophic and life-threatening flash flooding and landslides.