00:00this is this Saturday update on tropical storm Melissa and unfortunately for places along the
00:14projected path of this storm increasingly dire so we're gonna walk you through how the messaging
00:21has changed over the last 24 hours but starting first with the satellite imagery to show you that
00:27the system has become much better organized this morning it is now a tropical storm virtually a
00:35hurricane on the cusp of becoming a hurricane we think it will become a hurricane later today so
00:41for all intensive purposes think of it as a hurricane not just a tropical storm max wind
00:47speed 70 miles per hour pressure way down 982 millibars still crawling along now west northwest
00:54at one miles per hour again I want you to see the satellite imagery look how big the impacts are
01:01relative to the center a lot of people fixated on the center this is a case where you do not want to
01:07fixate on the center unfortunately the slow motion is going to continue for another three or four days
01:25gradually turning more to the west today and tonight and intensifying most likely rapidly intensifying
01:35taking it to major hurricane status tonight or tomorrow major hurricane status as it approaches the island of
01:45Jamaica on Tuesday Monday night or Tuesday but that that closest point of approach or landfall if you will is
01:54not important what is important is the impact will be felt over the island of Jamaica for the next two to three days
02:01even before even before the closest point of approach
02:07Jamaica now under a hurricane warning which means hurricane conditions are now inspected expected indeed based off the latest information you know we feel that hurricane force winds are all but certain
02:30certain somewhere over the island of Jamaica so that's what you got to be prepared for starting to get ready for but really the biggest thing to talk about here is the extremely heavy rains and catastrophic flooding that will come with a storm because it's moving so slowly this slow motion is going to really cause a problem these bright purples here these bright purples
02:58purples which include Jamaica and the western tip of haiti 20 to 30 inches of rain so let me say that again 20 to 30 inches of rain so much rain that you could almost measure it in feet instead of inches so that kind of rain is going to cause catastrophic catastrophic flooding somewhere over the island of Jamaica and potentially Haiti
03:22ultimately extending over southeast Cuba at some point later in the forecast now what does this really mean what does this really mean these are big numbers but what does this mean you're really looking at probably widespread power outages and disruption of communication for Jamaica the inability to move around talking about mudslides and flooding impassable roads cut off communities really a very very concerning
03:52especially if you've got somebody if you've got someone down there on vacation it's imperative that you get in touch with them make sure that they are aware and tracking this situation and taking necessary precautions we will be back tomorrow with more information the latest information but you can always always get the most up to date information including more timely information from hurricanes.gov
04:14and we'll see you next time
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