Tropical Storm Melissa was expected to strengthen into a hurricane on Saturday as forecasters warned of massive rainfall and life-threatening flooding and landslides in the northern Caribbean, with an astounding 35 inches (89 centimeters) of rain anticipated in southwest Haiti.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami warned of "life-threatening and catastrophic flash flooding and landslides" throughout Hispaniola.

As of 7 a.m. CDT Friday, the center of Tropical Storm Melissa was located about 185 miles southeast of Kingston, Jamaica, and was crawling to the east-southeast at 1 mph. Melissa had winds of 45 mph, making it a minimal tropical storm.

Tropical Storm Melissa is lumbering through the Caribbean Sea and bringing a risk of dangerous landslides and life-threatening flooding to Jamaica and southern Hispaniola.

At 2 a.m. Saturday, the National Hurricane Center issued an advisory stating that Tropical Storm Melissa is in the Caribbean Sea, 170 miles southeast of Kingston Jamaica and 235 miles southwest of Port Au Prince Haiti. The system, with maximum sustained winds of 70 mph, is moving northwest at 3 mph.

AccuWeather meteorologists are expecting life-threatening flooding in Jamaica, the Dominican Republic and Cuba, leading to a potential humanitarian crisis in the days ahead.