Tropical Storm Melissa is expected to rapidly intensify over the weekend into a Category 4 hurricane, according to the National Hurricane Center. The slow-moving storm is forecast to bring "life-threatening and catastrophic flash flooding and landslides to southern Hispaniola and Jamaica through the weekend.

Tropical Storm Melissa is nearly stationary in the central Caribbean, with forecasters warning it could soon strengthen and brush past Jamaica as a powerful hurricane.

Melissa is currently the only active tropical system in the Atlantic basin. As of Friday night, the storm remains nearly stationary, drifting north at just 2 mph. Maximum sustained winds are around 65 mph—just below the 75 mph threshold needed to reach Category 1 hurricane status.

Tropical Storm Melissa is expected to undergo rapid intensification and grow into a powerful Category 4 hurricane by early next week.

Hurricane Melissa made landfall in eastern Cuba as a Category 3 storm after pummeling Jamaica as one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes on record.

The capitals and exclamation points are warranted. Hurricane Melissa is an extraordinary storm, even among the many massive, fast-growing, devastating cyclones that have been erupting in the Atlantic Ocean in recent years.

Up to 40 inches of rain, 13 feet of storm surge and 160 mph sustained winds will cause “extensive infrastructure damage” that will cut off communities, the National Hurricane Center warned. Melissa has already killed three people in Haiti and Jamaica each and one person in the Dominican Republic.

Hurricane Melissa is expected to hit eastern Cuba after passing Jamaica. NBC News’ Ed Augustin reports on how the island is dealing with power cuts, food shortages and an outbreak of tropical diseases as the storm approaches.