Tropical Storm Rafael is expected to strengthen into a hurricane in the northwestern Caribbean near the Cayman Islands with further strengthening anticipated before it makes landfall in Cuba, the United States National Weather Service reports. The storm was located 130km (80 miles) south-southwest of Montego Bay, Jamaica, on Tuesday morning. It had maximum sustained winds of 95km/h (60mph) and was moving northwest at 20km/h (13mph), according to the US National Hurricane Center (NHC), located in Miami, Florida.

The storm was passing west of Jamaica on Tuesday morning and was forecast to be near or over the Cayman Islands on Tuesday night before reaching western Cuba on Wednesday. After Cuba, Rafael’s forecast track will take it into the Gulf of Mexico before running into unfavourable upper atmosphere winds and dry air, curtailing its further development, forecasters say.

The storm could exacerbate an acute energy crisis in Cuba. Parts of the island have experienced prolonged power outages in recent weeks due to decrepit infrastructure and a lack 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 landfall in the eastern part of Cuba, killing at least six people. A hurricane warning is in effect for the Cayman Islands and western Cuba, including the tobacco-growing province of Pinar del Rio, as well as the capital, Havana. A tropical storm warning is in effect for Jamaica and central Cuba as well as a large portion of the Florida Keys. “The storm is currently situated in an atmospheric and oceanic environment that is quite conducive for strengthening,” the NHC said. (Aljazeera)

Photo: A screenshot of a weather map showing the probable path of Tropical Storm Rafael on November 5, 2024. (National Hurricane Center)…[+]