According to the National Hurricane Center, Hurricane Melissa had maximum sustained winds of 160 miles per hour as of 5 a.m. on Monday.
FOX 13 Meteorologist Dave Osterberg said Melissa was gaining latitude on Monday as it drifted west-northwest.
He said the storm will eventually move to the north, over Jamaica.
Osterberg added that hurricane-force winds extend about 30-40 miles out from the center of the storm. However, it is expected to dump 15-30 inches of rain on the island and produce a 10-14-foot storm surge.
He noted that the winds, with gusts of 100 miles per hour, will begin to arrive on Monday.
READ: John's Pass Seafood Fest renews tradition after last year's hurricane decimate Pinellas County
Osterberg expects the storm to make landfall around 6 or 7 a.m. on Monday and then move through southeastern Cuba.
The Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands are also being warned to brace for impact after Melissa emerges back over the Atlantic after ripping across Cuba.
Alerts in the Caribbean have also expanded with the latest advisory from the NHC. While the entire island of Jamaica remains under a hurricane warning, those alerts expanded to the Cuban provinces of Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Guantanmo and Holguin.
READ: Guantánamo Bay begins evacuations as Hurricane Melissa nears category 5 strength
Osterberg said the last big storm Jamaica faced was Hurricane Gilbert in 1988, and it didn't produce a big storm surge because it moved east to west across the island. Hurricane Melisa is coming from the south, so all the water is going to be piled up along with south coast of the island.
Melissa claimed at least three lives in the Dominican Republic last week as the storm stalled in the Caribbean, lashing Hispaniola with several inches of rain.
The 2025 Atlantic hurricane season now stands as the season with the second-most Category 5 hurricanes to form, with three. This season now sits behind the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season, which had four.
Prior to this season, the 2005 season was the only season on record to produce more than two Category 5 storms.