TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — The National Hurricane Center has warned that Tropical Storm Melissa is on course to escalate into a hurricane within the next few days.

Sitting approximately 240 miles south-southeast of Kingston, Jamaica, Melissa is currently advancing west-northwest at a slow pace of about 3 mph.

Forecasters predict that Melissa will shift its path northwest or north in the coming days, before veering westward as the weekend approaches.

The storm is projected to be in closer proximity to Jamaica and the southwestern region of Haiti over the next couple of days, according to the NHC.

Currently, Melissa’s maximum sustained winds are clocking in at around 50 mph.

While no significant changes in strength are anticipated in the immediate future, the NHC expects a notable intensification by late Friday and continuing through the weekend.

Melissa is forecast to become a hurricane over the next couple of days.

A hurricane watch is in effect for the southwestern peninsula of Haiti from the border with the Dominican Republic to Port-Au-Prince.

A tropical storm warning is in effect for Jamaica.