Hurricane Rafael rapidly strengthens to Category 3 as it swirls towards Cuba and US Gulf states
Hurricane Rafael rapidly strengthened to a powerful Category 3 storm Wednesday afternoon as it struck Cuba — triggering a nationwide blackout — on a path that could threaten US states along the Gulf of Mexico in the coming days, according to forecasters.
The wild late-season storm — which intensified by 50 mph over just 24 hours — made landfall near the western city of Playa Majana with winds of 115 mph at around 4 p.m., according to the National Hurricane Center.
“Strong winds caused by the major hurricane Rafael caused the shutdown of the national electricity system,” Union Electrica, which runs the island’s power sector, announced on X.
The hurricane then weakened as it crossed land and was on track to emerge in the southeastern Gulf of Mexico — not far from the Florida Keys — Wednesday evening, still swirling at “hurricane strength,” forecasters said.
It was projected to then weaken as it blows west toward southern Texas over the next several days.
On Wednesday afternoon, the hurricane pounded Cuba with “a life-threatening storm surge, damaging hurricane-force winds and flash flooding,” the hurricane center said.
It was the first Category 3 hurricane to hit Cuba since Hurricane Ian in September 2022. In October, Hurricane Oscar — a Category 1 storm — struck the island, killing at least 6 people.
Rafael churned through western Jamaica on Tuesday afternoon but there reported no deaths or injuries despite the heavy rain. It then moved through portions of the Cayman Islands on Wednesday morning.
Rafael is the fifth “major hurricane” — defined as being a Category 3 or stronger — of the 2024 season and the strongest to hit the northwestern Caribbean in the month of November since 2009, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Heavy rainfall is forecast in the Western Caribbean, including across Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, through Thursday, according to the NHC.
