AccuWeather said in a post on X, Thursday: “Tropical Storm Melissa is forecast to rapidly strengthen to a major hurricane over the Caribbean and could end up being one of the strongest of the season with lives and property in peril from Jamaica to Cuba and Haiti.”

When Melissa departs the Caribbean later next week, it may contribute to stormy conditions along much of the United States East Coast with a new round of rough surf and beach erosion in some areas.