Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Cuba overnight after battering Jamaica as one of the most powerful landfalling storms in Atlantic basin history.

The extent of the damage from Melissa was unclear Wednesday as widespread power outages and dangerous conditions persisted in affected areas.

Rainfall. Melissa is expected to bring an additional 4 to 8 inches across Jamaica, where storm total amounts will be between 12 to 24 inches. Isolated areas near 30 inches will be possible over mountainous terrain. Ongoing catastrophic flash flooding and numerous landslides will continue through Tuesday night.

Today, Today, several developments occurred. Melissa changed into hurricane, before turning into a Category 5 hurricane. Then, it weakened to a Category 4 hurricane and eventually became a Category 3 hurricane before being downgraded to a Category 3 hurricane with sustained winds of 125 mph.

Up to 25 inches of rain could fall in eastern Cuba, causing "life-threatening" flash floods and landslides, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Melissa made landfall on Tuesday afternoon in south-western Jamaica near the town of New Hope with wind speeds of 185 mph (295 km/h), according to the US National Hurricane Center (NHC). Originally a category five storm,

Hurricane Melissa barreled into Jamaica on Tuesday as a Category 5 storm with some of the fastest winds and strongest intensities ever recorded. The storm blew through the Caribbean island’s southwestern coast,