Hurricane Rafael Menaces Florida Keys On Path Toward US Gulf

(MENAFN- Live Mint) Rafael became a hurricane while churning toward the Gulf of Mexico, threatening to inflict damaging winds and heavy rains on populated areas from the Cayman Islands to South Florida.

Winds reached 75 miles an hour Tuesday evening, making Rafael a Category 1 hurricane on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale, according to an update from the US National Hurricane Center at 7:20 p.m. New York time.

Rafael is expected to bring deluges and mudslides to Jamaica and the Cayman Islands as it heads toward landfall in Cuba Wednesday. The Florida Keys also could see localized flooding from Rafael's outer bands starting in the next 24 hours, followed by possible tornadoes, according to a bulletin from the National Weather Service.

After that, forecasters are less certain about Rafael's trajectory. The storm could veer west and dissipate over open Gulf waters, or it could be steered into the central Gulf coast by a trough coming off a separate storm system. Shell Plc and Chevron Corp. are among the oil producers that evacuated some staff from platforms ahead of Rafael.

If Rafael turns toward the coast,“we'd be looking at a weakening tropical storm at landfall, which would hopefully help mitigate significant impacts,” said Adam Douty, a senior meteorologist at AccuWeather.

Rafael is the 11th hurricane to form in the Atlantic basin this season. Forecasters at Colorado State University - which publishes an annual outlook - had predicted the season would be“extremely active,” producing 12 hurricanes before formally ending Nov. 30.

With assistance from Mary Hui.

This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.

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