National Weather Service meteorologists issued a slew of weather warnings along much of the U.S. coast on Thursday.

After weakening to a Category 1 hurricane after its passage across the rugged terrain of eastern Cuba, by Wednesday afternoon Melissa was recovering over the waters around the speckled islands of the southeastern Bahamas.

Counties across the country face a number of Status Yellow warnings ahead of the weekend, as Ireland gets set for the tail end of Hurricane Melissa. The huge weather event has cause major damage and disruption across Jamaica,

NWS meteorologists at the Anchorage, Alaska, office issued a hurricane-force wind warning in the early morning hours on Wednesday. The office warned that winds could gust to 65 knots (74 mph), equivalent to a low-end Category 1 hurricane. The strong winds would cause 23-foot seas on Wednesday.

Haiti is expected to see catastrophic flash floods and landslides early next week causing “extensive infrastructural damage and potentially prolonged isolation of communities.” The southwestern peninsula of Haiti, from the border of the Dominican Republic to Port-au-Prince, was placed under a hurricane watch and a tropical-storm warning.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami says Melissa has begun affecting the southeastern Bahamas SANTIAGO DE CUBA, Cuba — Melissa began affecting the southeastern Bahamas on Wednesday, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.