The USS Nimitz is returning to its home port in Naval Base Kitsap in Washington state after having been deployed to the Middle East for most of the summer as part of the U.S. response to attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on commercial shipping. The carrier is on its final deployment before decommissioning.

With the 11 p.m. Thursday advisory, Melissa was about 150 miles southeast of Kingston, Jamaica and 270 miles southwest of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, creeping north at only 3 mph and packing maximum sustained winds near 45 mph. Tropical-storm-force winds extended outward up to 140 miles from the center, underscoring the storm's broad reach.

Weather experts said they feared that if forecasts become less accurate, the public will lose faith in them — and the result will be that residents will be less likely to heed hurricane warnings and evacuate when their lives may be in danger.

Melissa is expected to become a Category 5 hurricane by Sunday night, Oct. 26, and have catastrophic impacts on islands in the northern Caribbean.

Jamaica and other countries impacted by Hurricane Melissa will be getting help from organizations right here in South Florida.

Hurricane Melissa is forecast to strengthen — possibly as high as Category 5 — as it meanders around the Caribbean in the next several days.