Hurricane Melissa is now a Category 5 beast of a storm that is slowly making its way toward Jamaica. Catastrophic winds and deadly flooding will level parts of the island.

A separate storm moving in from the northern plains will dive in our direction, help to steer Melissa away from the East Coast, but will also create a corridor for tropical moisture to feed back towards us. It will be beneficial rain.

We can expect between 1 to as much as 3 inches of water to collect in rain gauges from Wednesday night through very early Friday morning. Winds will also pick up. Sustained winds will range from 20 to 25 mph with frequent gusts to 35-45 mph.

IMPACTS:

Localized flooding. Fall debris will clog sewers and catch basins, allowing rainwater to push further into streets. Gusty winds will bring down branches and leaves. Aside from isolated outages, the leaves will make paved surfaces very slippery. Please be extra cautious when traveling.

Delays will be building and numerous at the airports.

In the short term of the forecast, the weather is quiet until late Wednesday night. Skies are expected to be clear, and winds are light enough that frost could once again form. Frost advisories have been issued until 9 a.m. Tuesday.

Early sunshine will fade behind building cloud coverage tomorrow. As a result, the temperatures will remain on the cooler side. The high is around 58 degrees (Normal is 63 degrees.)

Early look at Halloween forecast: The rain should stop before daybreak. The winds will continue. Expect very windy conditions and dress for the extra chill those winds will bring.