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.

Tropical Storm Rafael slipped by western Jamaica en route to the Cayman Islands and was expected to strengthen into a hurricane Tuesday evening, federal forecasters said.Rafael, which formed Sunday as Potential Tropical Cyclone 18,