According to the National Hurricane Center's 4 a.m. Sunday advisory, Category 3 Hurricane Melissa is in the Caribbean Sea, 125 miles south-southeast of Kingston Jamaica and 280 miles west-southwest of Port Au Prince Haiti. The hurricane is moving to the west at 3 mph, with maximum sustained winds of 115 mph.

Melissa is now a category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale, the U.S. Hurricane Center said on Saturday. The hurricane was located about 280 miles (450 km) from Port-au-Prince, Haiti,

Melissa is expected to strengthen from a tropical storm into a major hurricane this weekend, bringing “life-threatening and catastrophic” flash flooding and landslides to the Caribbean.

Hurricane Melissa strengthened into a major Category 3 hurricane late Saturday, unleashing torrential rain and threatening to cause catastrophic flooding in the northern Caribbean, including Haiti and Jamaica.

KINGSTON, Jamaica -- Melissa grows into a major Category 3 hurricane while unleashing torrential rain in the north Caribbean.

At 2 a.m. Sunday, the National Hurricane Center issued an advisory stating that Category 3 Hurricane Melissa is in the Caribbean Sea, 125 miles south-southeast of Kingston Jamaica and 295 miles west-southwest of Port Au Prince Haiti. With maximum sustained winds of 120 mph, the hurricane is moving west-southwest at 5 mph.