Tropical Storm Melissa is on track to threaten Haiti as a hurricane over the weekend, bringing heavy rains and life-threatening flooding to the island nation. Jamaica and Cuba also could feel the effects as the storm meanders slowly north in the Caribbean.

Tropical Storm Melissa is barely moving through the Caribbean, and that’s exactly what makes it so dangerous. The longer it lingers, the more rain it dumps. Haiti, Jamaica and the Dominican Republic could face days of relentless downpours and mudslides.

The National Hurricane Center now projects that Melissa will strengthen into a major hurricane in the central Caribbean.

Tropical Storm Jerry will make its closest approach to the northeastern Caribbean islands tonight and early tomorrow.

The Leeward Islands, including the U.S. Virgin Islands, should monitor the progress of a weather system moving across the Atlantic, as the National Hurricane Center (NHC) has given the disturbance — designated Invest 95L — an 80 percent chance of development within 48 hours and a 90 percent chance within seven days.