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Hurricane Matthew remained a powerful Category 4 storm Sunday as it swirled across the Caribbean toward Haiti and Jamaica, where residents frantically stocked up on emergency supplies and authorities urged people to evacuate threatened areas. As of 2 p.m. EDT, the storm was centered about 340 miles south-southwest of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Matthew resumed moving northwest at 5 mph with maximum sustained winds increasing to 145 mph. Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 35 miles from the center, and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 205 miles. Two deaths were blamed on the storm as it barreled through the eastern Caribbean...

The commander of the U.S. Navy base at Guantánamo Bay on Saturday ordered the evacuation of families and other so-called “non-essential personnel” from the remote outpost in southeast Cuba ahead of Hurricane Matthew. “A mandatory evacuation has been called for all non-essential personnel,” said Guantánamo base spokeswoman Julie Ripley, in a statement issued just before 1 p.m. “The location will be announced once details are finalized. This includes dependents, school-aged children, special needs families, and their pets.”

Hurricane Matthew grew into a powerful Category 5 storm late Friday as it crossed the Caribbean Sea on a course that could have it pounding Jamaica within days. The U.S. National Hurricane Center called it the strongest hurricane in the Atlantic since Felix in 2007. Matthew's center was projected to reach Jamaica on Monday. Evan Thompson, director of the National Meteorological Service, said the first effects of the storm may be felt as early as Saturday. "We do consider it serious," Thompson said. "We are all on high alert."

Hurricane Matthew is big, bad and just downright scary, and we await the long anticipated sharp turn northward. Jamaica is completing final storm preparations. All interests in the Eastern U.S. and Bahamas should be carefully watching the track of Mighty Matthew. Ripped straight from the NHC Discussion page: Matthew remains south of a low-to mid-level ridge over the western Atlantic. The dynamical models forecast this ridge to weaken over the next 72 hours as a mid- to upper-level trough develops over the Gulf of Mexico. This evolution should cause Matthew to turn northwestward after 24 hours and northward by 48-72...

An Air Force reconnaissance plane recently measured a peak SFMR wind of 143 kt and then 138 kt during this mission's eye penetrations. Furthermore, the satellite presentation has improved considerably with a distinct eye surrounded by a ring of very deep convection. The raw objective T-numbers from UW-CIMSS have been above 7.0 since 2100 UTC. On this basis, the initial intensity has been increased to 140 kt, making Matthew a Category 5 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. This is the first Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic basin since Hurricane Felix in 2007.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados —Hurricane Matthew grew into a powerful Category 4 storm on Friday as it crossed the Caribbean Sea on a course that could have it pounding Jamaica within days. The center of the hurricane was projected to pass just to the east of Jamaica Monday, but the storm was large enough that it could affect the entire island, and the first effects of the storm may be felt starting Saturday, said Evan Thompson, director of the National Meteorological Service. Jamaica activated its National Emergency Operations Center and Prime Minister Andrew Holness called an urgent meeting of Parliament to discuss...