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

Tropical Storm Rafael is expected to weaken by Monday morning, days after it slammed into Cuba as a Category 3 hurricane, according to the National Hurricane Center. On Wednesday, Rafael made landfall in Cuba as a Category 3 hurricane,

Hurricane Rafael was downgraded to a tropical storm as it continued westward in the Gulf of Mexico posing no threat to land for now while the National Hurricane Center kept track of another system with low odds to develop into the next tropical depression or storm.