Hurricane Melissa brought hurricane-force gusts to Bermuda overnight and will weaken as it heads north, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. Maps show its forecast path.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio pledges "immediate humanitarian aid" to Cuba as State Department responds to effects of Hurricane Melissa in the Caribbean.

Rescue efforts are underway across the Caribbean after Hurricane Melissa tore through the region as one of the most powerful Atlantic storms in more than 150 years. Torrential downpours and forceful winds have already unleashed widespread destruction along the storm’s path in Jamaica,

Travelers are finally starting to come home from Jamaica, Cuba and other islands that were impacted by the major hurricane earlier this week.

Hurricane Melissa may be the strongest hurricane to make landfall in the Atlantic basin. It has also ignited discussion about the need for a Category 6 designation.

The storm will hit Bermuda on Thursday afternoon or evening, after Jamaica faced the devastation from one of the most powerful storms ever recorded.

Rescue operations and urgent evacuations continued in Cuba on Friday, as people remained trapped by severe flooding left by the torrential rains from Hurricane Melissa on rural areas and towns across the affected provinces on the eastern end of the island.

Hurricane Melissa tore through Jamaica, Haiti, and Cuba this week as one of the most powerful Atlantic storms on record. A new analysis finds that warming made the cyclone four times as likely to hit today as in preindustrial times.