With the 11 p.m. Thursday advisory, Melissa was about 150 miles southeast of Kingston, Jamaica and 270 miles southwest of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, creeping north at only 3 mph and packing maximum sustained winds near 45 mph. Tropical-storm-force winds extended outward up to 140 miles from the center, underscoring the storm's broad reach.

Tropical Storm Melissa is likely to undergo rapid intensification and grow into a powerful Category 4 hurricane.

At 11 a.m. Friday, the National Hurricane Center issued an advisory stating that Tropical Storm Melissa is in the Caribbean Sea, 165 miles south-southeast of Kingston Jamaica and 275 miles southwest of Port Au Prince Haiti. The system is currently stationary, with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph.

Tropical Storm Melissa is set to intensify this weekend, and Jamaica and other Caribbean islands are bracing for harsh weather, forecasters with the National Hurricane Center in Miami said Thursday morning.

The National Hurricane Center said uncertainty continues on where Tropical Storm Melissa will go and how strong it could get.