Rafael strengthens to a Category 1 hurricane

MIAMI — Tropical Storm Rafael strengthened into a Category 1 Hurricane on Tuesday evening near the Cayman Islands, the National Hurricane Center said.

At 1 a.m. Wednesday, it had maximum sustained winds of 85 mph and was moving northwest at 13 mph, the center said. The storm is forecast to “rapidly intensify” into a Category 2 hurricane before it makes landfall in western Cuba later Wednesday, the agency said in an update. The hurricane could be approaching the U.S. Gulf Coast by Saturday and Sunday, according to the agency. “Rafael could briefly weaken over Cuba but is then expected to emerge into the southeastern Gulf of Mexico as a hurricane,” the hurricane center said.

A hurricane warning was in effect Tuesday for the Cayman Islands and the Cuban provinces Pinar del Rio, Artemisa, Mayabeque, Matanzas and the Isle of Youth. Havana was also covered by the warning, which signals hurricane conditions, including destructive winds and flooding. The government of the Cayman Islands issued a shelter-in-place advisory for Grand Cayman effective at 10 p.m. local time, according to a statement. “The public is advised to remain indoors and stay informed,” it said. A shelter-in-place advisory was already in effect for the rest of the islands, the government said. Those in the Cayman Islands should expect damaging winds, torrential rain, a storm surge of up to 3 feet and wave heights of up to 15 feet, it said. People should stay away from the coastline, the government warned.