Tropical storm conditions could affect voter turnout today as fierce 'Felix', a Category Five system and the second named hurricane of the Atlantic season, hurtles towards the Yucatan Peninsula.

Forecasters at the United States National Hurricane Center said Felix was strengthening at one of the fastest rates seen, as measured by the drop in its minimum internal pressure, according to Reuters news agency.

At 4:00 p.m. yesterday, the centre of Hurricane Felix was located near 440 miles south-east of Kingston.

The forecast track of Hurricane Felix is projecting the centre of the cyclone to pass approximately 300km (190 miles) south of Jamaica today.

The Meteorological Service sai this would be relatively far from the mainland, outer rain bands and tropical storm-force winds are extending over a wide area to the north and could influence weather conditions across the island.

The Met Service said Hurricane Felix is moving towards the west-north-west near 32 km/h (20 mph) and this general motion is expected to continue.

Maximum sustained winds had increased to near 165 mph, with higher gusts making it a powerful Category Five hurricane.

Hurricane-force winds extend outward approximately 40km (25 miles), while tropical storm-force winds extend about 185km (115 miles) from the centre.