The center of Hurricane Melissa is now about 150 miles northeast of the Bahamas, and impacts will continue to subside over the next several hours. Melissa maintains its category 2

Tropical Storm Melissa is expected to strengthen into a hurricane before rapidly intensifying on its way to major hurricane status.

According to the NHC, the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, developed in 1971 by civil engineer Herbert Saffir and meteorologist Robert Homer Simpson, is a rating of 1 to 5 based on a hurricane's sustained wind speed and its potential for significant loss of life and damage.

The Jamaican government said it had done all it could to prepare as it warned of devastating damage from the strongest hurricane to hit the island since recordkeeping began 174 years ago.