The strongest hurricane on record to make landfall over Jamaica was Hurricane Gilbert in 1988, a Category 4 hurricane, with sustained winds of 130 mph. As of Monday morning, Melissa was classified as a Category 5 storm with sustained winds of 160 mph.

Hurricane Melissa is now a Category 5 storm, capable of dumping catastrophic rainfall in addition to the powerful winds it's packing. The monster storm has begun to impact Jamaica, Cuba and Haiti, and it's expected to cause life-threatening problems for days during its slow crawl through the Caribbean.

Melissa developed into a deadly Category 5 hurricane Monday, Oct. 27, and is expected to have historically catastrophic impacts on the northern Caribbean.

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.

Officials across the Caribbean prepare for days of heavy rain from the storm.

Tropical Storm Melissa is expected to bring days of heavy rain to the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Jamaica and may trigger life-threatening flash flooding, the National Hurricane Center says.