A hurricane is threatening to bring destruction and catastrophe to Haiti, parts of Jamaica, Cuba and the Bahamas -- before it skirts the U.S. East Coast this weekend.

The National Hurricane Center reports Hurricane Matthew is traveling northward at 6 miles per hour, packing 140 miles per hour winds. As of 11 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time Hurricane Matthew was 275 miles about 275 miles southwest of Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

The hurricane is expected to dump 25 inches of rain in Haiti...with some spots receiving 40 inches. Flash flooding may occur in some areas. The hurricane is expected to reach Jamaica late Monday/early Tuesday.

According to weather-dot-com...this is timing of the storm.

Hurricane Matthew will hit ---

• Jamaica: Late Monday/early Tuesday
• Haiti/Dominican Republic: Late Monday/Tuesday
• Eastern Cuba: Tuesday/Tuesday night
• Southeast & central Bahamas/Turks & Caicos: Tuesday afternoon into at least Wednesday night

The hurricane could be especially catastrophic for Haiti. The island is still recovering from a 2010 earthquake that destroyed the island's infrastructure.

As for the U.S., it's too early to predict which locations will be hit by the hurricane. At the time of this report, Hurricane Matthew is a Category 4 storm, but it's projected to weaken to a Category 3 hurricane.