Thu Oct 23 06:29:43 UTC 2025: Okay, here’s a news article based on the provided text:

Headline: Tropical Storm Melissa Threatens Caribbean with Flooding, Hurricane Status Expected

Kingston, Jamaica – Tropical Storm Melissa is bearing down on the Caribbean, threatening islands with dangerous landslides and life-threatening flooding. Officials are urging residents in vulnerable areas to seek higher ground as the slow-moving storm is expected to intensify into a hurricane by Friday and potentially a major hurricane by the late weekend.

Jamaica’s eastern region is bracing for up to 12 inches (300mm) of rainfall. “That is significant rainfall, and that is the main thing that we should be mindful of at this time,” warned Evan Thompson, director of Jamaica’s Meteorological Service. Similar rainfall amounts are anticipated for southern Haiti and the southern Dominican Republic through Saturday, with the possibility of even greater localized rainfall depending on Melissa’s future track. Heavy rain is also forecast for western Jamaica, southern Hispaniola, Aruba, and Puerto Rico.

As of late Wednesday night, Melissa had maximum sustained winds of 50mph (85km/h) and was moving west at a sluggish 2mph (4km/h), according to the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami. The storm was centered approximately 335 miles (535km) south-southwest of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and 295 miles (475km) south-southeast of Kingston, Jamaica.

“The storm could strengthen gradually in the coming days and grow into a hurricane by Friday and a major hurricane by the late weekend,” the NHC said in its latest advisory.

Already, heavy rains in the Dominican Republic have caused traffic disruptions and led to the cancellation of sporting events.

Melissa is the 13th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season and the first to form in the Caribbean this year. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has predicted an above-normal Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to November 30, with 13 to 18 named storms expected. Of those, five to nine are forecast to become hurricanes, including two to five major hurricanes packing winds of 111mph or greater.

Read More