Hurricane Melissa rapidly intensifies. Will it impact New York?

Hurricane Melissa has rapidly intensified into a Category 5 storm in the Caribbean, unleashing catastrophic wind, flooding, and storm surge across Jamaica and threatening nearby Cuba and the Bahamas. But what does this monster storm mean for New York?

Will Melissa impact the East Coast?

Forecasters with the National Hurricane Center and AccuWeather say the system is not expected to make direct landfall in the United States, and New York is unlikely to see any significant effects from Melissa. Most forecast models show the storm will curve northeast into the Atlantic Ocean later this week, steered away from the East Coast by a dip in the jet stream over the eastern U.S.

"At this time, the odds of 'direct' rain and wind impacts from Melissa reaching the U.S. East Coast are low," said