The National Hurricane Center's 1 pm Wednesday advisory reported that Category 3 Hurricane Rafael is 40 miles northeast of the Isle of Youth and 85 miles south of Havana Cuba, with maximum sustained wind of 115 mph. It’s moving at 14 mph to the northwest.

ToplineHurricane Rafael strengthened into a Category 3 hurricane on Wednesday as the storm is expected to make landfall in western Cuba, which faces “life-threatening” storm surges and flash floods before likely impacting the Florida Keys and other states later this week,

Tropical Storm Rafael intensified into a Category 3 hurricane on Wednesday, making landfall in western Cuba as it approached the Gulf of Mexico, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The storm is bringing life-threatening storm surge, damaging hurricane-force winds, and flash flooding.