UPDATE: Gustav Hits Jamaica, U.S. Keeps Watch

Officials in the U.S. continue to keep a close eye on Tropical Storm Gustav, which rolled into Jamaica early Friday.

Forecasters say Gustav could grow into a major hurricane -- a Category 3 storm -- by the time it arrives in western Cuba on Saturday.

To date, 51 people have died in southwestern Haiti and eight were killed in the neighboring Dominican Republic as Gustav came through Thursday.

In the U.S., officials said the storm could hit somewhere along the Gulf Coast early next week.

At 8 a.m. ET Friday, the center of Gustav was near the western end of Jamaica with winds of 65 mph (100 kph) that are expected to increase later Friday.

The National Hurricane Center's five-day chart puts a potential landfall anywhere from Corpus Christi, Texas, eastward to Panama City, Florida, with Gustav being a Category 3 storm by Tuesday evening. New Orleans is right in the center of the projected path at this time, but that could change.