The 18th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season was gaining strength Tuesday morning after forming in the Caribbean. Tropical Storm Rafael was forecast to grow steadily, if not rapidly as it churns past Jamaica's west coast on a path for Cuba ...

Rafael is expected to become a hurricane as it passes near the Cayman Islands with further strengthening before it makes landfall in Cuba,” the National Hurricane Center in Miami said, per PBS.

Tropical Storm Rafael is intensifying as it moves toward the Cayman Islands and western Cuba. It will likely enter the Gulf of Mexico as a hurricane - here's what you need to know.