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Cyclone Melissa is projected to strengthen into a uncommon category five hurricane as it shifts towards Jamaica, bringing life-threatening rapid inundation and mudslides.

The cyclone, which recorded wind speeds of up to 195 km/h as of 0600 Greenwich Mean Time, is currently turning northwest in the Caribbean region and is expected to make landfall by midweek, according to weather experts.

Alerts of electricity outages and structural damage have been issued as Melissa generates up to 76cm of rainfall and coastal flooding as high as thirteen feet above typical tides. "Find safe refuge immediately," locals have been told.

The cyclone is the 13th storm in the current Atlantic season, which typically ends in the eleventh month.

Highest-Level Hurricane Danger

A Category 5 cyclone is the strongest type, with sustained winds of at least 157mph.

While this storm is set to diminish in strength to a fourth-level storm before arriving at Jamaica, authorities said there was "almost no noticeable change in the overall impacts" upon landfall, and that the hurricane will be "at least that intensity" when it strikes the island.

Critical Readiness Measures

With tropical storm-strength gusts and precipitation already expected ahead of it crosses central Jamaica - perhaps encompassing the capital, Kingston - advisories state that "readiness efforts must be accelerated".

"An extended timeframe of destructive gusts and intense precipitation have begun and will cause devastating and dangerous rapid water accumulation and multiple mudslides," counseled climate experts.

The nation's leader the official said: "I know that there are countless citizens who are worried, who are extremely apprehensive, and appropriately: worry is natural.

"Yet the most effective method to manage worry and any nervousness and anxiety is to remain prepared."

Residents are being instructed to fortify their houses with sandbags and timber panels, and to accumulate essentials.

Wider Consequences

Alerts are also ongoing for parts of Haiti encompassing the main city, Port au Prince, the adjacent nation and eastern Cuba, where the hurricane is expected to bring comparable impacts by the middle portion of the coming week.

Landslides presently generated by the cyclone have caused two deaths in Haiti, according to the nation's Civil Protection agency.

Expected Course

This weather system is forecast to move across Cuba by midweek before passing across the Antillas Mayores and out into the Atlantic.

By the time it makes contact with the Caribbean nation, it is forecast to have weakened to a category three hurricane.

Weather Background

Although it is hard to associate specific storms to environmental shifts, scientists say it is making climate patterns more prevalent and more extreme.

Increased sea temperatures create additional humidity in the air, aiding in the development of tropical cyclones.

Prior to the start of this season's Caribbean cyclone season, climate agencies forecast above-normal activity, mentioning heated marine conditions and potential stronger monsoon activity around the western African continent - where tropical systems typically originate.