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.

Hurricane Melissa, already a major category 4 storm, gathered steam Sunday as it took aim at Jamaica and other parts of the Caribbean, with forecasters predicting catastrophic flooding and urging resi...