With the 11 p.m. Thursday advisory, Melissa was about 150 miles southeast of Kingston, Jamaica and 270 miles southwest of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, creeping north at only 3 mph and packing maximum sustained winds near 45 mph. Tropical-storm-force winds extended outward up to 140 miles from the center, underscoring the storm's broad reach.

Tropical Storm Melissa dumped heavy rain on parts of Haiti and the Dominican Republic on Wednesday as forecasters warned of significant flood risk in the northern Caribbean this week.

Significant flash flooding and mudslides are expected, with rain totals of up to 10 inches forecast through Friday for Haiti and the Dominican Republic.