Hurricane Melissa made landfall Tuesday in Jamaica as a fearsome Category 5 storm. Forecasters said it could be the island's "storm of the century."

Jamaica is bracing for what could be the most intense storm in its history as Hurricane Melissa rapidly approaches with powerful Category 5 winds. The hurricane is expected to gather speed and batter the Caribbean country with up to 76 centimetres (30 inches) of rain when it makes landfall on Tuesday.

Texas newlyweds Kasydee and Hunter Bishop are trapped near Montego Bay, Jamaica, as Hurricane Melissa approaches as a Category 5 storm with 175 mph winds.

Now, as a weakened category 2 storm, there have been some impacts felt in the Bahamas, with Melissa tracking toward Bermuda on Thursday. Beyond that, as can be fairly typical, Melissa will weaken so that it will no longer be a hurricane or tropical storm as it moves into the North Atlantic.

Melissa is now a Category 1 moving through the Bahamas after the storm made a historic landfall in Jamaica as one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes in history.