Tropical Storm Melissa formed in the Caribbean on Tuesday, marking the 13th named storm of the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season. According to the National Hurricane Center, the slow-moving storm is forecast to become a "major hurricane" by late this weekend or early next week.

The National Hurricane Center's 5 p.m. Thursday advisory reported that Tropical Storm Melissa is in the Caribbean Sea, 220 miles southeast of Kingston Jamaica and 280 miles southwest of Port Au Prince Haiti. The system, with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph, is moving north-northwest at 2 mph.

More than 370,000 undocumented Haitians have been deported from the Dominican Republic over the past year. This figure reflects the outcome of stricter immigration measures introduced by the government of Dominican President Luis Abinader.

Rain from Tropical Storm Melissa snarled traffic in the Dominican Republic’s capital Santo Domingo Wednesday. Tropical Storm Melissa dumped heavy rain on parts of Haiti and the Dominican Republic as forecasters warned of a significant flood risk in parts of the northern Caribbean this week.

Melissa was expected to strengthen into a hurricane by Friday and approach Jamaica and southwest Haiti later this week