Non-essential personnel and families are being ordered to evacuate the U.S. Navy's Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in southeastern Cuba between Saturday and Sunday due to the approaching Hurricane Melissa. The storm is projected to be an extremely dangerous Category 3/4 hurricane by the time it makes landfall in Cuba on Tuesday. The base commander at Guantanamo Bay has ordered non-mission-essential U.S. citizens to prepare to evacuate the outpost tomorrow. Earlier, the commander had ordered ICE personnel to decamp to the mainland. More than 4,000 people reside on the base, including Navy families, school teachers, hospital staff, and contract workers. The 15 wartime detainees at the base are housed in a new, hurricane-proof dorm. Hurricane Melissa, previously reported to be moving unusually slowly and posing a significant threat to Jamaica with potential for extreme rainfall and Category 5 strength winds, is now expected to intensify before reaching Cuba. The U.S. Navy's decision to evacuate reflects the anticipated severity of the storm. Separately, there is an ongoing issue regarding National Weather Service (NWS) warnings for Tropical Storm Melissa. One report indicates that NWS Norman is aware of NWS Fort Worth not issuing warnings and is attempting to contact them, as NWS Norman has no information as to why Fort Worth is not issuing warnings.
