Hurricane Melissa remained a powerful Category 3 storm as it made landfall near Chivirico, Cuba with 120 mph winds early Wednesday morning.

Melissa has been weakening while moving over eastern Cuba but is still at Category 2 strength.

Melissa has 105 mph sustained winds as it spins about 45 miles NW of Guantanamo, Cuba and about 200 miles S of the Central Bahamas.

The storm will emerge back over waters in the next few hours as it continues moving northeast, now at a much faster clip of 14 mph.

Hurricane Melissa continue to bring impacts to the islands in the coming days. It will emerge back over warm waters and head towards the Bahamian Islands & Turks and Caicos later today.

Hurricane-force winds go out 30 miles from the storm’s center, which will pass near/over the central and SE Bahamas with hurricane conditions starting today, lasting into Thursday.

Storm surge is a concern for the low-lying islands with the forecast calling for 5-8′ above normal tide for portions of the Bahamas.

Minor coastal flooding will occur in the Turks and Caicos Islands but surge is more of a concern closer to where Melissa passes. Exuma, Great Inagua, Mayaguana, Ragged Island & Crooked Island are all in the crosshairs.

Over the Southeastern Bahamas, rainfall totals of 5-10″ are expected today. For Turks and Caicos, rainfall totals of 1-3″.

From there, Melissa will pass near Bermuda Thursday into Friday with heavy rain starting to affect Bermuda on Thursday.

Hurricane Melissa made landfall as one of the strongest on record for the Atlantic Basin. The storm came ashore near New Hope, Jamaica packing 185 mph winds as a powerful Category 5.

The pressure was 892 mb at landfall around noon local time. This also falls in the record books. It is the 3rd lowest pressure of an Atlantic hurricane – tied with the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 that hit the Florida Keys.

The storm has picked up some speed since making its turn north. It is pulling off Jamaica’s north shore moving north-northeast at 8 mph.

Melissa has been interacting with Jamaica’s mountainous terrain since landfall, which has helped lessen winds and pressure. Winds are currently sustained at 150 mph with a 914 mb pressure.

Tropical-storm conditions continue for the island part of tonight, clearing up by Wednesday morning. Tomorrow will offer up the first real sights of the damage in Jamaica left in Melissa’s wake.

From here, Hurricane Melissa will make a second landfall in eastern Cuba late tonight – early Wednesday. The forecast still calls for a Category 4 with winds around 150 mph as it crosses Cuba’s southern coast.

Just like it did for Jamaica, Melissa’s entire eye is expected to cross over Cuba with hurricane-force winds starting late tonight.

Impacts will be felt in the Turks and Caicos and the SE Bahamas on Wednesday as Melissa continues moving northeast at a faster clip. Thursday night into Friday, it passes near Bermuda with the forecast still calling for 100 mph winds.