From a baby to a monster. That’s how Hurricane Felix has developed over the last day-and-a-half in the Atlantic and Caribbean. At 8:00 p.m. Sunday night, Felix was 390 miles southeast of Kingston, Jamaica, and plowing along at nearly 165 miles per hour, with higher gusts.

Within hours of becoming a tropical depression in the Atlantic early Saturday, Felix was soon a tropical storm, then a category 1, 2, 3, and 4 within a day. By 8:00 p.m. Sunday, it was the dreaded Category 5 and moving across the warm waters of the Caribbean Sea.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida says Felix continues to rapidly strengthen and is headed for Jamaica and the Grand Caymans after brushing by Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao in the Netherlands Antilles earlier Sunday. Felix is also expected to bring heavy rain to Northern Colombia and Venezuela.

Image : NOAA infrared satellite image taken at 6:20 p.m. EDT September 2, 2007 of Hurricane Felix in the Caribbean Sea. By 8:00 p.m., maximum sustained winds neared 165 MPH, with higher gusts, making Felix a Category 5. Credit: NOAA.

In the Pacific, Tropical Storm Henriette is lashing Mexico’s western coast and is predicted to grow to hurricane strength over the next couple of days. Also in the Pacific, Tropical Depression Gil was showing signs of dissipating on Sunday afternoon.

The Hurricane Center is also closely monitoring a developing tropical wave halfway between Africa and the Lesser Antilles islands. It could become a tropical depression by early next week.