Tropical Storm Rafael is expected to become a major hurricane before it makes landfall in western Cuba, the National Hurricane Center said Wednesday morning.

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.

There is larger-than-normal uncertainty regarding Rafael’s intensity later in the forecast period,” the National Hurricane Center said on Wednesday, Nov. 6