Tropical Storm Melissa brings heavy rain to Haiti and Dominican Republic

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

The slow-moving storm was located about 305 miles (495 kilometers) south-southwest of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and some 335 miles (540 kilometers) southeast of Kingston, Jamaica. It had maximum sustained winds of 50 mph (80 kph) and was moving west-northwest at 2mph (4 kph), according to the National Hurricane Center.

"People across Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Cuba and Jamaica need to prepare for the increasing threat of torrential rainfall, flash flooding, power outages, and roads being washed out. The impacts from Melissa could be catastrophic," said Alex DaSilva, AccuWeather's lead hurricane expert.

Dominican President Luis Abinader announced that schools in 10 provinces under alert would close Wednesday and Thursday, while the private and public sector in those regions would close by early Wednesday afternoon. Officials also urged those living in flood-prone areas to seek higher ground ahead of the storm.

A hurricane watch was in effect for southern Haiti from the border it shares with the Dominican Republic to Port-au-Prince, while Jamaica was under a tropical storm watch.

Melissa was expected to strengthen into a hurricane on Thursday and approach Jamaica and southwest Haiti later this week. Hurricane conditions are possible in southern Haiti starting late Thursday, with tropical storm condition possibly starting to affect Jamaica late Thursday or on Friday, the center said.

"There continues to be a very large uncertainty on whether the storm would ... threaten Haiti or Cuba, or whether it would turn more westward to the south of Jamaica," the National Hurricane Center said. "This should be considered an extremely uncertain forecast, and significant changes could be required."

Five to 10 inches (12-25 centimeters) of rain was forecast for southern Haiti and the southern Dominican Republic through Friday, with greater amounts in some areas. Several inches also were expected in Jamaica, with smaller amounts forecast for northern areas of Hispaniola, Aruba and Puerto Rico.

On Thursday, rains from Melissa snarled traffic in the Dominican Republic's capital, Santo Domingo, and games in the country's professional baseball league were canceled. People in Haiti grew concerned over the possibility of heavy flooding, which has devastated the country during past storms given widespread erosion.