Life-threatening and catastrophic flash flooding and landslides are expected in portions of Jamaica and southern Hispaniola through the weekend.

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.

Hurricane Melissa has strengthened into a major Category 3 hurricane, unleashing torrential rain and threatening to cause catastrophic flooding in the northern Caribbean, including Haiti and Jamaica.

Hurricane Melissa is on track to rapidly strenghten and could become a major Category 5 hurricane, according to the NHC, Saturday, Oct. 25.

Melissa is expected to strengthen even further into a major catastrophic hurricane when making landfall in Jamaica.

Jamaica's central location in the Caribbean, the island has never recorded a direct landfall from a Category 4 or 5 hurricane, according to records from the National Hurricane Center (NHC) dating back to 1850.

Jamaica's airports are closing due to Hurricane Melissa, with flight cancellations by JetBlue, American Airlines, Air Canada, Caribbean Airlines, and Southwest.

The storm sits 160 miles from Kingston, Jamaica and 325 miles from Port-Au-Prince, Haiti as of Saturday morning.

Tallahassee residents with roots on the island are staying strong and "prayed up" for their loved ones who are bracing themselves for the storm.