Tropical Storm Rafael formed on Monday in the Caribbean - the 17th named storm of the busy 2024 Atlantic hurricane season - and is on track to impact the Cayman Islands on Tuesday and parts of western Cuba on Wednesday as a hurricane.
Heavy rains and tropical storm conditions are affecting Jamaica Tuesday morning, where up to 10 inches of rainfall is forecast as Rafael's center brushes the island's southwestern coastline.
Rafael expected to become a hurricane Tuesday eveningRafael continues to gradually organize, but conditions ahead will favor quicker strengthening and Rafael will be near or at hurricane strength by the time it blows through the Cayman Islands late this evening and during the predawn hours Wednesday.
On the current forecast, Rafael is expected to strike western Cuba as a high-end Category 1 or borderline Category 2 hurricane during the day Wednesday and emerge in the Gulf of Mexico southwest of the Florida Keys as a hurricane late Wednesday becoming only the fifth hurricane in the modern record since 1966 to make it into the Gulf in November.
While the core and worst of Rafael will pass southwest of the Florida Keys, it will still bring tropical storm conditions - winds above 39 mph - primarily south of Islamorada and Lower Matecumbe Key, as well as minor coastal flooding for oceanside areas of the Keys by Wednesday night.
