Hurricane Melissa is creeping toward Jamaica as a powerful Category 5 storm with 175 mph winds Tuesday morning.

According to the National Hurricane Center's 8 a.m. Tuesday advisory, Category 5 Hurricane Melissa is in the Caribbean Sea, 55 miles south-southeast of Negril Jamaica and 265 miles southwest of Guantanamo Cuba. With maximum sustained winds of 175 mph, the hurricane is moving to the north-northeast at 7 mph.

With peak sustained winds of 180 mph and even higher gusts, Hurricane Melissa is forecast to be the strongest storm ever to strike Jamaica.

Melissa is not expected to make landfall in Florida or the U.S. The powerful storm is expected to make landfall on the island nation of Jamaica Tuesday morning. At 8 p.m., Melissa has maximum sustained winds of 175 mph and gusts of well over 200 mph. Melissa is a dangerously powerful Category 5 hurricane.

Forecasters said the colossal amount of rain dropped on parts of Florida east and north of Orlando was comparable to what the region saw from a hurricane in 2022, underscoring the state's vulnerability to extreme weather far beyond the tropical storms that brew offshore.

Historic, life-threatening flash flooding and landslides are expected in portions of Jamaica, southern Haiti and the Dominican Republic through the weekend, the NHC said. Peak storm surge heights could reach 9 to 13 feet above normal tide levels when the storm makes landfall, accompanied by large and powerfully destructive waves.