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Cyclone Melissa is forecast to become a infrequent highest-level cyclone as it turns toward the Caribbean island, delivering life-threatening flash flooding and landslides.

The hurricane, which registered winds of up to 120 mph as of 06:00 GMT, is currently turning northwest in the Caribbean Sea and is expected to reach land by Tuesday, according to meteorological authorities.

Advisories of electricity outages and disruption to utilities have been released as Melissa brings up to 30 inches of precipitation and storm surges as high as 13ft above typical tides. "Take cover without delay," inhabitants have been told.

Melissa is the thirteenth storm in the ongoing Atlantic storm period, which normally finishes in the eleventh month.

Category Five Cyclone Risk

A Category 5 storm is the most powerful category, with winds of at least 157mph.

Even though Melissa is set to weaken to a fourth-level cyclone before arriving at the island, experts said there was "almost no noticeable change in the overall impacts" upon making contact with land, and that the storm will be "equally strong" when it impacts the country.

Critical Safety Steps

With tropical storm-level gusts and precipitation anticipated well in advance long before it crosses Jamaica's central region - possibly even the national capital - warnings state that "safety measures need to be finalized quickly".

"A multi-day period of harmful winds and intense precipitation have begun and will cause catastrophic and life-threatening flash flooding and numerous landslides," urged climate experts.

Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness commented: "I realize that there are numerous residents who are anxious, who are deeply troubled, and with good reason: concern is justified.

"Yet the optimal approach to manage worry and any apprehension and anxiety is to stay ready."

Locals are being told to fortify their houses with sandbags and timber panels, and to accumulate necessary supplies.

Wider Consequences

Warnings are also ongoing for parts of the neighboring country encompassing the capital, Port au Prince, the adjacent nation and the eastern part of Cuba, where this storm is projected to bring analogous consequences by the middle portion of the coming week.

Mudslides currently triggered by the cyclone have caused two deaths in the country, according to local authorities.

Future Path

This weather system is predicted to pass over the island nation by the middle of the week before moving through the Greater Antilles and emerging into the Atlantic.

By the point it reaches Cuba, it is forecast to have diminished to a third-level hurricane.

Environmental Background

Even though it is challenging to link individual weather events to environmental shifts, scientists say it is causing weather phenomena more common and more intense.

Warmer oceans create greater water vapor in the atmosphere, helping fuel the formation of tropical cyclones.

Ahead of the start of the current Atlantic storm period, meteorological authorities predicted increased storm frequency, citing warmer seas and possible enhanced seasonal rains around West Africa - where Atlantic storms frequently develop.