Tropical Storm Melissa forms in the Caribbean, hurricane watch in portions of Haiti

(NBC 6 NEWS)- Tropical Storm Melissa formed in the Caribbean Sea on Tuesday and could become a hurricane later this week, forecasters said.

Melissa had maximum sustained winds of 50 mph and was moving west at 14 mph about 300 miles south of Port-Au-Prince, Haiti, according to the first advisory from the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

A hurricane watch was issued for the southern peninsula of Haiti from the border with the Dominican Republic to Port-Au-Prince.

A tropical storm watch was also in effect for Jamaica.

Melissa was expected to turn to the northwest and north before approaching the southwestern portion of Haiti and Jamaica later this week, the NHC said.

Gradual strengthening was expected during the next few days and the NHC track showed Melissa becoming a hurricane later this week.

Hurricane Season

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It is still too early to tell what the exact track or intensity will be with Melissa but the NHC is advising Puerto Rico, Hispaniola, Jamaica, and Cuba to monitor the progress of the system as there is a risk of heavy rain and flooding, strong winds, and rough surf later this week.

Models agree in the short term, but become divergent by days six and seven. There are three possible scenarios at play:

·        Melissa moves west into Central America.

·        Melissa curls north, possibly bringing impacts to portions of the Caribbean.

·        A later northern curve could bring it near the Bahamas.

Melissa is the 13th named storm of the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season. If it becomes a hurricane it would be the fifth this year.

An average hurricane season generally produces 14 named storms and 7 hurricanes, with 3 major hurricanes.

The hurricane season officially began June 1 and ends November 30.