Hurricane Melissa is set to bring catastrophic winds, flooding and storm surge to Jamaica, forecasters have warned.

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.

Hurricane Melissa has been upgraded to a Category 5 storm, with dangerous winds, storm surge and flash flooding expected in Jamaica, forecasters said.

Melissa will make history in Jamaica with landfall today, packing catastrophic flooding, landslides and destructive winds. It will then target eastern Cuba and the southeast Bahamas. Here's the very latest forecast.

"It is more than kind of distressing because you don't know when and you don't know how," said Ewan Simpson, who lives in Jamaica.

Jamaica is expected to be in the storm's eyewall, which refers to the band of dense clouds surrounding the eye of the hurricane. The eyewall generally produces the fiercest winds and heaviest rainfall, according to Deanna Hence, a professor of climate, meteorology and atmospheric sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Melissa is expected to reach Jamaica early Tuesday, breaking records as the most powerful storm ever to hit the island. The most powerful before now was Hurricane Gilbert in 1988, which recorded winds of 130mph.