Hurricane Rafael rapidly intensified into a Category 3 hurricane in the Caribbean and is a few hours away from slamming into Cuba. The powerful hurricane is the fifth major hurricane of the year in the Atlantic and the strongest in the basin this late in the year since 2020.

ToplineTropical Storm Rafael is expected to strengthen on Tuesday while becoming a hurricane over the western Caribbean as the storm heads northwest toward the Gulf Coast later this week, impacting the Florida Keys and other states,

As per the National Hurricane Center's 1 pm Wednesday update, Category 3 Hurricane Rafael is 40 miles northeast of the Isle of Youth and 85 miles south of Havana Cuba, with maximum sustained wind of 115 mph. It’s moving at 14 mph to the northwest.