Rafael, the 18th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, turned a hurricane on Tuesday night because it approached the Cayman Islands, the Nationwide Hurricane Middle mentioned. Â
A Class 1 hurricane, Rafael reached most sustained winds close to 75 mph based mostly on current information from plane reconnaissance, the Nationwide Hurricane Middle mentioned in a 7:20 p.m. ET advisory.Â
The middle of the hurricane is situated 20 miles southeast of Little Cayman within the Caribbean Sea, and 305 southeast of Havana, Cuba. Damaging hurricane-force winds, a harmful storm surge and harmful waves are anticipated, forecasters mentioned, with the storm anticipated to strengthen earlier than reaching Cuba. It was shifting northwest at 15 mph.Â
The Miami-based hurricane heart mentioned the system was anticipated to strategy the northwest a part of Cuba across the time it reaches hurricane power. A map charting Rafael’s projected path by the Caribbean, created by CBS Information meteorologist Nikki Nolan, reveals the storm nearing Cuba Wednesday morning with most sustained winds of 85 miles per hour.
Nikki Nolan/CBS Information
“Regular to fast intensification is forecast over the subsequent 24 to 36 hours, and Rafael is forecast to turn out to be a hurricane within the northwestern Caribbean close to the Cayman Islands with additional strengthening earlier than it makes landfall in Cuba,” forecasters mentioned in an replace early Tuesday morning.
The hurricane heart mentioned the heaviest rainfall was forecast to hit Jamaica on Tuesday, with Cuba more likely to face a strengthened storm by Wednesday. Rainfall will possible be accompanied by hurricane circumstances within the Cayman Islands by Tuesday afternoon and probably in western Cuba and the Isle of Youth by Wednesday.Â
NOAA/Nationwide Hurricane Middle
“Heavy rainfall will affect areas of the Western Caribbean by early Thursday, notably throughout Jamaica and the Cayman Islands into southern and western parts of Cuba the place rainfall totals between 3 to six inches are anticipated,” the hurricane heart mentioned Tuesday morning, including that “remoted larger totals as much as 10 inches” might be seen in some components of Jamaica and Cuba.
Heavy rainfall was anticipated to unfold north into Florida and elsewhere within the southeast U.S. by the center or finish of the week, with as a lot as 3 inches forecast for the decrease and center Florida Keys.
CBS Information meteorologist Nicolette Nolan mentioned forecasting fashions weren’t clear sufficient as of Monday to foretell the place Rafael would head as soon as it reaches the Gulf of Mexico, “however the Gulf coasts from Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida have to be on alert for impacts on the finish of the week.”
