Rafael is expected to continue to intensify into major hurricane strength Wednesday after becoming a hurricane the prior night. It began as a Category 1 before strengthening into a Category 2 hurricane Wednesday morning.

Hurricane Rafael entered the Gulf of Mexico late Wednesday after making landfall in western Cuba earlier in the day. To the east of Rafael, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) is monitoring another area for possible development in the southwestern Atlantic Ocean as the countdown to the end of hurricane season begins.

Tropical Storm Rafael formed in the Caribbean on Monday, a storm that's predicted to intensify into a hurricane and threaten the Gulf Coast this weekend.

Hurricane Rafael has made landfall in Cuba as a Category 3 storm. It is expected to continue into the Gulf of Mexico, weakening but potentially threatening the southeastern United States. Only when tropical cyclones in the Atlantic Ocean encounter the right ingredients for long enough do they strengthen to the point of designation.

The National Hurricane Center is continues to monitor a system in the Atlantic with low odds of developing into the seasons next tropical depression or storm and weakening Tropical Storm Rafael. As of the NHC 7 a.

Hurricane Rafael was downgraded to a tropical storm as it continued westward in the Gulf of Mexico posing no threat to land for now while the National Hurricane Center kept track of another system with low odds to develop into the next tropical depression or storm.