What was already a dangerous and deadly Tropical Storm Melissa is now on the cusp of becoming a hurricane Saturday morning, and forecasts have become even more dire for potentially catastrophic impacts across Jamaica,

Jamaica's central location in the Caribbean, the island has never recorded a direct landfall from a Category 4 or 5 hurricane, according to records from the National Hurricane Center (NHC) dating back to 1850.

Forecasters warned of rapid intensification, with Melissa expected to reach hurricane strength later today and potentially major hurricane status by Sunday. The storm’s projected path shows Jamaica directly in its core wind field, with tropical-storm-force winds already extending up to 115 miles (185 km) from the center.

As of 7 a.m. CDT Friday, the center of Tropical Storm Melissa was located about 185 miles southeast of Kingston, Jamaica, and was crawling to the east-southeast at 1 mph. Melissa had winds of 45 mph, making it a minimal tropical storm.

Haiti is expected to see catastrophic flash floods and landslides early next week causing “extensive infrastructural damage and potentially prolonged isolation of communities.” The southwestern peninsula of Haiti, from the border of the Dominican Republic to Port-au-Prince, was placed under a hurricane watch and a tropical-storm warning.

Melissa will likely intensify into a hurricane in a matter of hours. Once the storm has its structure in place, rapid intensification is forecast over the near-record warm water.

Tallahassee residents with roots on the island are staying strong and "prayed up" for their loved ones who are bracing themselves for the storm.

Melissa has already turned deadly across Haiti and the Dominican Republic, but AccuWeather meteorologists warn that the worst may be yet to come with the storm on track to intensify.