Hurricane Rafael has picked up in intensity with sustained winds now clocking in at 110 mph as a Category 2 storm.
It is notably just 1 mph shy of becoming a Category 3.
The cyclone sits 60 miles east-southeast of the Isle of Youth and 130 miles south-southeast of Havana.
Rafael is moving to the northwest and is expected to make landfall overnight and then re-emerge north of Cuba early Thursday morning.
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Hurricane force winds, storm surge of 8–12 feet and rainfall amounts of 4–7 inches are in the forecast for portions of the Island.
Impact on South Florida
What about South Florida? Look for winds to pick up with gusts up to 35 mph for Broward and Miami-Dade by this afternoon and gusts even higher across the Keys, possibly in the 50-60 mph range.
Local
Tropical storm warnings continue from Key West to Marathon. Strong storm potential is also running high across the lower and middle Keys, with isolated tornadoes possible.
Similar conditions are expected to continue overnight as Rafeal makes its closest approach to our area.
The rain and storms will push out by Thursday afternoon, but not before 1-3” falls across the Keys.
Less rain is expected for Miami-Dade and Broward. Rafael will continue its trek west and eventually weaken to a tropical storm later this weekend in the northern/central Gulf of Mexico.
