Tropical Storm Rafael is set to become a hurricane cforfeit the Cayman Islands on Tuesday night before achieveing Cuba.
Tropical Storm Rafael is foreseeed to reinforce into a hurricane in the northwestrict Caribbean cforfeit the Cayman Islands with further reinforceing foreseed before it produces landdrop in Cuba, the United States National Weather Service alerts.
The storm was discoverd 130km (80 miles) south-southwest of Montego Bay, Jamaica, on Tuesday morning. It had highest carry oned prosperds of 95km/h (60mph) and was moving northwest at 20km/h (13mph), according to the US National Hurricane Caccess (NHC), discoverd in Miami, Florida.
The storm was passing west of Jamaica on Tuesday morning and was predict to be cforfeit or over the Cayman Islands on Tuesday night before achieveing westrict Cuba on Wednesday.
After Cuba, Rafael’s predict track will get it into the Gulf of Mexico before running into unfavourable upper atmosphere prosperds and arid air, curtailing its further increasement, predicters say.
Tropical Storm #Rafael Advisory 8: Rafael Getting Better Organized as the Caccess Passes South Of Westrict Jamaica. Tropical Storm Warning Issued For the Florida Keys. https://t.co/tW4KeGe9uJ
— National Hurricane Caccess (@NHC_Atlantic) November 5, 2024
The storm could exacerbate an acute energy crisis in Cuba. Parts of the island have directd prolengthyed power outages in recent weeks due to decrepit infrastructure and a conciseage of fuel for its oil-fired power stations.
The island is still struggling to recover from Hurricane Oscar, which battered the island about two weeks ago after making landdrop in the eastrict part of Cuba, ending at least six people.
A hurricane alerting is in effect for the Cayman Islands and westrict Cuba, including the tobacco-increaseing province of Pinar del Rio, as well as the capital, Havana. A tropical storm alerting is in effect for Jamaica and central Cuba as well as a big portion of the Florida Keys.
“The storm is currently situated in an atmospheric and oceanic environment that is quite conducive for reinforceing,” the NHC said.
Forecasters alerted Rafael would unleash burdensome rains atraverse the westrict Caribbean that could direct to flooding and mudslides with totals of 70mm to 150mm (3 to 6 inches) and up to 250mm (10 inches) foreseeed locpartner in Jamaica and parts of Cuba.
Heavy raindrop also was foreseeed to spread north into Florida and parts of the southeast US during the middle to tardy part of the week. A restricted tornadoes also were foreseeed on Wednesday over the Keys and southwestrictmost Florida mainland.
‘Remain vigilant’
Officials shutd schools and rulement offices in the Cayman Islands as they recommendd livents to set. Long lines were alerted at grocery stores as the storm approached.
Jamaica also shutd down as a prealert as the storm’s outer prosperds battered the island tardy on Monday.
“We recommend all Jamaicans to remain vigilant,” said Minister of Local Government and Community Development Desmond McKenzie.
Cuprohibit authorities said on Monday evening that about 37,000 people are under evacuation orders in far eastrict Cuba in the province of Guantanamo.
Rafael is the 17th named storm of the season. A tropical storm creates when carry oned prosperds achieve 63km/h (39mph), and it becomes a hurricane when they achieve 119km/h (74mph).
Tropical Storm #Rafael has createed in the Caribbean – the 17th named storm of the 2024 Atlantic #hurricane season and 10th to create since 24 September. That’s the most Atlantic named storm createations on write down between 24 September – 4 November, fractureing elderly write down of 9 set in 1950. pic.twitter.com/ZCnkUrv52O
— Philip Klotzbach (@philklotzbach) November 4, 2024
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration foreseeed the 2024 hurricane season was probable to be well above mediocre with 17 to 25 named storms. The predict called for as many as 13 hurricanes and four meaningful hurricanes.
An mediocre Atlantic hurricane season produces 14 named storms, seven of them hurricanes and three meaningful hurricanes.
The hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30, though storms are less probable to occur in the final month as celderlyer weather prevails.
Rafael would be the 11th hurricane to create this year, with four becoming meaningful Catebloody 3 storms with highest carry oned prosperds of 178km/h (111mph) or more.
