Meteorologists predict an unusual November hurricane will hit the southern United States this weekend.
The tropical S storm As Rafael moved toward the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported that it had strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane. The south-central United States is predicted to experience the storm’s landfall.
Within the next 12 hours, Rafael is predicted to move close to or over the Cayman Islands, where “destructive waves, a dangerous storm surge, and damaging hurricane-force winds are expected.”
According to the Associated Press, island officials prepared by closing government buildings and schools.
In a Tuesday night update, the center also stated that it is too soon to say what effects Rafael would have on areas of the northern Gulf Coast.
The storm is now traveling northwest at 15 mph with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph. Little damage was reported as Rafael, the 17th named storm of this above-normal hurricane season, swept across Jamaica.
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The U.S. State Department provided departure flights to non-essential employees and issued a warning against visiting Cuba. The provinces of Pinar del Rio, Artemisa, La Habana, Mayabeque, Matanzas, and the Isle of Youth were under a hurricane alert.
As it approaches the US central Gulf coast this weekend, the storm is predicted to continue to be a Category 1 or 2 storm before starting to lose strength. According to current forecasts, the storm will move from central and eastern Louisiana on the west to the Florida panhandle on the east.
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The storm is predicted to be powerful enough to produce choppy waters in the Gulf of Mexico, which would cause beach erosion and hazardous surfing conditions, even though it will diminish as it gets closer to the US.
Although the exact position could vary from the Florida Panhandle to the Texas coast, meteorologists predict that the storm will most likely make landfall in the United States along the Louisiana shore, causing some coastal flooding.
As Dr. Ryan Truchelut, chief meteorologist at WeatherTiger, told the Fort Myers, Florida, News-Press article, “the good news is that while the Rafael may well enter the Gulf as a hurricane mid-week, there is very little chance of the storm reaching land as a hurricane.”
Although the storm’s remnants might potentially dump enough rain on southern Appalachia to create floods, fortunately, the majority of that rain is not anticipated to reach Hurricane Helene’s afflicted areas, where relief efforts are still in progress.
