Tropical Storm Melissa intensified into a hurricane on Saturday, October 25, as it continued its slow movement across the Caribbean Sea.

Forecasters said the hurricane is expected to reach Category 5 strength, with winds up to 160 mph (257 km/h).

The storm reached winds of 75 mph (120 km/h) and attained hurricane strength Saturday afternoon, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported.

The center of Melissa was located 130 miles (about 230 kilometers) southeast of Kingston and 250 miles (405 kilometers) southwest of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, this afternoon, according to the most recent NHC advisory.

A tropical storm becomes a hurricane when its winds reach 74 mph (119 km/h). Melissa is forecast to become a major hurricane by the weekend.

The storm is not expected to have a significant impact on the United States, forecasters said.

However, high surf, beach erosion, and some stormy conditions are expected along parts of the East Coast next week from Melissa, as well as another coastal storm that is expected to develop, according to AccuWeather.

Hurricane and tropical storm watches and warnings are in effect for Jamaica, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and eastern Cuba

“Catastrophic life-threatening flash flooding and mudslides” are expected through early next week in Jamaica, currently under a hurricane watch, and in parts of southern Haiti and the Dominican Republic, both under heavy rainfall watches.

Forecasters expect the cyclone to turn northward and northeastward Monday and Tuesday. According to the forecast track, the center of Melissa is expected to move near Jamaica this weekend and early next, when it is expected to be located near or over eastern Cuba next Wednesday or Thursday.

Melissa could dump a total of 15 to 25 inches (38 to 63 centimeters) of rain on parts of southern Hispaniola and Jamaica in the coming days, with the possibility of up to 35 inches (89 centimeters) on Haiti’s Tiburon Peninsula, the NHC said, warning of possible heavy rainfall in eastern Cuba.

The storm has already caused at least three deaths in Haiti and more than 1.2 million people are without drinking water in the Dominican Republic, where the storm also knocked out dozens of water systems and displaced hundreds.

Melissa brings the total to 13 this season in the Atlantic: hurricanes Erin, Gabrielle, Humberto and Imelda, and storms Andrea, Barry, Chantal, Dexter, Fernand, Jerry, Karen, Lorenzo and Melissa, of which Chantal was the only one to make landfall in the U.S. in July, leaving two dead. in North Carolina.