Like a plane stuck circling an airport, waiting for a runway to land on, Melissa has been stuck in a holding pattern in the Caribbean with no exit for days — because there’s no other weather pattern to steer it anywhere else.
As the storm continues meandering at about one mile per hour, it has been tricky to forecast and pinpoint when and where dangerous conditions may occur.
Some uncertainty lingered over the weekend, though the near-term forecast had become much clearer:
Forecasters expect the storm to pose a significant threat of catastrophic flash flooding and damaging winds to Jamaica, Haiti and Cuba for several days. Heavy rain is expected to last through the weekend as the storm remains close to the islands.
It intensified into a hurricane on Saturday and is expected to become a major hurricane — Category 3 or higher — this weekend.
Melis
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