torrential

Last year, in torrential rain, Verstappen won in Sao Paulo after starting 17th.

The alert also came more than 12 hours after the national weather agency had issued its highest alert level for torrential rains.

Hurricane Melissa's winds dipped to a still "powerful" storm, as it passed Tuesday over Jamaica, where it landed with historic ferocity and torrential rains.

With Jamaica's mountainous terrain, torrential rainfall could trigger landslides, while heavy damage to hotel infrastructure could batter the tourism-dependent economy for years, she warned.

At least three people are known to have died and hundreds of homes have been flooded in Haiti as Melissa brought torrential rainfall to the island of Hispaniola.