The National Hurricane Center's 8 p.m. Thursday advisory reported that Tropical Storm Melissa is in the Caribbean Sea, 165 miles south-southeast of Kingston Jamaica and 275 miles southwest of Port Au Prince Haiti. With maximum sustained winds of 45 mph, the system is moving to the north at 2 mph.

Invest 98L in the eastern Caribbean is expected to strengthen into a tropical depression or tropical storm over the next few days.

The tropical wave’s development chances have increased over the past few days, reaching a 60% likelihood of becoming a tropical depression or storm. It is still early in the life cycle of this tropical wave, and meteorologists will continue to monitor its progress and provide updates as more information becomes available.

The National Hurricane Center has bumped up the odds that at least a tropical depression will form in the Caribbean this week. They now have chances in the high-medium range, which is in line with the consensus of the computer forecasts.