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    Hurricane Rafael causes the power grid in Cuba to collapse. What's next for Storm?
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    Hurricane Rafael causes the power grid in Cuba to collapse. What's next for Storm?

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    Hurricane Rafael raged over the open waters of the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday, moving away from Cuba after lashing the country with heavy rains and crippling the fragile power grid.

    According to the National Hurricane Center's 7 a.m. update, the storm was located 180 miles west-northwest of Havana and 195 miles west of Key West, Florida. With winds of 105 miles per hour, Rafael remained at the Category 2 strength, which it had weakened to as it barreled across the island.

    Meteorologists suspended storm-related warnings and watches as Rafael was expected to “meander across the south-central Gulf of Mexico this weekend and early next week,” moving well from coastal areas. Forecasters expect it to weaken and possibly dissipate before reaching the western Gulf Coast.

    Rafael hit Cuba late Wednesday afternoon as a Category 3 storm, bringing flooding that triggered flash floods and another island-wide power outage. That deepened a crisis that had left many without power for more than two weeks and was made worse by two consecutive hurricanes

    Around 10 million people across the country were without power on Thursday as Cuban authorities struggled to restore power. The country's state media said power had been restored in some areas but the capital, Havana, remained largely in the dark.

    As the storm moves further into the Gulf, it will still cause mudslides and flooding along Cuba's higher terrain as it drops another 2 to 4 inches (5 to 10 cm) of rain, the National Hurricane Center said. Parts of western Cuba will see up to a foot of rain as Rafael moves completely away from the island.

    Days before Rafael's landing, tens of thousands of people evacuated the eastern province of Guantanamo after a series of storms brought heavy rains and triggered flooding. By then, the ground was already saturated from flooding from Hurricane Oscar, a Category 1 storm that killed at least six people last month.

    As a preventive measure, thousands were evacuated from Cuba's western provinces, particularly low-lying areas, as Rafael approached. The country also closed government offices and schools. Havana's José Martí International Airport was expected to remain closed until at least late Thursday afternoon.

    Does Rafael want to reach the US Gulf Coast?

    The latest forecasts agree that Rafael will advance westward in the coming days, although it is unclear how long he will maintain his strength and how far westward he will advance.

    “Once Rafael arrives in the Gulf of Mexico, subtle differences in intensity and atmospheric steering winds could have a significant impact on its ultimate path,” said Bill Deger, a senior meteorologist at AccuWeather.

    The chance of landfall in the US is extremely low, the latest AccuWeather forecast says.

    A non-tropical storm from the southern U.S. could also influence the hurricane's path, prompting forecasters to urge Gulf Coast residents to monitor Rafael through the rest of the weekend and into next week.

    “It is also possible that Rafael could be torn apart by strong winds high in the atmosphere and dissipate in the Gulf of Mexico before making landfall,” Deger said, pointing to expected weakening from cooler water and wind shear.

    Rafael storm tracker

    Contributors: Reuters; Jorge L. Ortiz and Doyle Rice, USA TODAY

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