Hurricane Rafael is passing through the Cayman Islands in the Caribbean and is forecast to rapidly intensify before making landfall in western Cuba, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center. Rafael was blowing maximum sustained winds of 80 mph (130 kph) after skirting past western Jamaica around mid-day.

Rafael continued to intensify on Tuesday night as it aimed to make landfall in Cuba as a Category 2 hurricane, forecasters said.

Steady to rapid intensification is forecast over the next 24 to 36 hours, Rafael became a Category 1 hurricane in the northwestern Caribbean.