Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Jamaica are bracing for Hurricane Melissa. The storm is expected to quickly grow into a powerful category 3 or stronger hurricane.

At 11 p.m. Saturday, the National Hurricane Center issued an advisory stating that Category 3 Hurricane Melissa is in the Caribbean Sea, 125 miles south-southeast of Kingston Jamaica and 280 miles west-southwest of Port Au Prince Haiti. The hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of 115 mph, is moving west at 3 mph.

U.S. forecasters issued a hurricane warning for Jamaica on Saturday as Tropical Storm Melissa reached hurricane strength, threatening catastrophic flooding in the northern Caribbean.

The National Hurricane Center's 7 a.m. Sunday update reported that Category 3 Hurricane Melissa is in the Caribbean Sea, 125 miles south-southeast of Kingston Jamaica and 295 miles west-southwest of Port Au Prince Haiti. Packing maximum sustained winds of 120 mph, the hurricane is tracking west-southwest at 5 mph.

At 2 a.m. Sunday, the National Hurricane Center issued an advisory stating that Category 3 Hurricane Melissa is in the Caribbean Sea, 125 miles south-southeast of Kingston Jamaica and 295 miles west-southwest of Port Au Prince Haiti. With maximum sustained winds of 120 mph, the hurricane is moving west-southwest at 5 mph.

The slow-moving storm is expected to bring heavy rainfall and life-threatening flash flooding and landslides to parts of Jamaica and Haiti, forecasters say.