Hurricane Rafael: Rare November storm set to hit US – here's the expected direction

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A rare November hurricane is expected to hit the southern United States this weekend, forecasters said.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Tropical Storm Rafael strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane on Tuesday as it approached the Gulf of Mexico. The storm is expected to make landfall in the southern United States.

According to the National Hurricane Center, Rafael is expected to pass near or over the Cayman Islands within the next 12 hours, where “destructive hurricane-force winds, a dangerous storm surge and damaging waves are expected.”

The Associated Press reported that island officials closed schools and government offices as a precaution.

“It is too early to determine what impact, if any, Rafael may have on portions of the northern Gulf Coast,” the center added in an update Tuesday evening.

The storm currently has maximum sustained wind speeds of 120 km/h and is moving northwest at 24 km/h.

Rafael, the 17th named storm of this above-average storm season, passed Jamaica, where only minor damage was reported.

The US State Department warned against travel to Cuba and offered departure flights for non-essential personnel. A hurricane warning was in effect for the island provinces of Pinar del Rio, Artemisa, La Habana, Mayabeque, Matanzas and the Isle of Youth.

The storm is expected to remain a Category 1 or 2 storm before it begins to weaken as it approaches the central U.S. Gulf Coast this weekend. Current forecasts show the storm moving through the panhandle from Florida in the east to central and eastern Louisiana in the west.

Although the storm will weaken as it approaches the U.S., it is expected to be strong enough to produce rough seas in the Gulf of Mexico, triggering beach erosion and dangerous surf conditions.

Meteorologists expect some coastal flooding to occur and predict the storm will most likely make landfall along the Louisiana coast, although the exact location ranges from the Florida Panhandle to the Texas coast could.

“The good news is that while Rafael could enter the Gulf as a hurricane by midweek, the likelihood of a storm is very low to reach “Land like a hurricane,” said Dr. Ryan Truchelut, chief meteorologist at WeatherTiger, told Fort Myers, Florida. News Press Paper.

There is a chance that the remnants of the storm could drop enough rain on the southern Appalachians to cause flooding. Fortunately, most of this rain is not expected to hit the regions affected by Hurricane Helene, where relief efforts are still underway.