Tropical Storm Rafael has grown extra highly effective within the Caribbean Sea and is poised to achieve hurricane energy on Wednesday, carrying the chance of damaging wind and rainfall. But it surely ought to weaken because it approaches the US Gulf coast, the place a number of states haven’t been hit by a hurricane in November, in line with data maintained for the reason that early months of the US civil struggle.
Parts of the Florida Keys might see tropical storm circumstances beginning on Wednesday night time, in line with the Nationwide Hurricane Middle.
If Rafael approaches that space round excessive tide, Dry Tortugas might see 1-3ft of storm surge, which is a wall of water pushed inland by a storm’s winds. And the Decrease Keys might see 1-2ft of storm surge, that are manageable ranges. The Nationwide Hurricane Middle stated that a number of tornadoes are potential over the Keys, in addition to Florida’s southernmost mainland, on Wednesday.
Rafael traveled north-west on Tuesday morning, bringing heavy rain to Jamaica, the Climate Channel meteorologist Jim Cantore stated on Tuesday on X. “Jamaica and the Cayman Islands ought to have a nasty day and night time with western Cuba getting it tomorrow,” Cantore wrote. “Relying on how briskly it may well intensify circumstances will transition from [tropical storm] to hurricane over The Cayman Islands tonight.”
The Nationwide Hurricane Service (NHS) stated that Rafael might deliver “damaging hurricane-force winds, a harmful storm surge, and harmful waves” because it nears the Cayman Islands on Tuesday night. The storm is predicted to achieve hurricane standing close to the Caymans and strengthen additional earlier than making landfall in Cuba.
Rafael’s risk to Cuba comes simply weeks after Hurricane Oscar dumped heavy rains on the island, resulting in a nationwide blackout and killing a minimum of seven folks. Cuba is going through a prolonged restoration interval, made all of the extra perilous by its worsening financial disaster, in line with the Related Press.
Meteorologists have additionally warned warn that the upper areas of Cuba – in addition to Jamaica – are liable to flash flooding and mudslides.
Forecasters consider that Rafael may also trigger heavy rainfall in different US Gulf states, although dry air and decrease water temperatures are anticipated to strip the storm of its hurricane depth.
Some projections posit that the Louisiana coast, together with New Orleans, and Mississippi might presumably see results from the storm. Data relationship to 1861 point out that neither Louisiana, Mississippi, nor Texas have seen a hurricane make landfall in November, in line with the New Orleans outlet WDSU.
The information outlet notes how a landfall-making hurricane at the moment of yr can be anomalous total. Over that very same interval, data point out that simply eight hurricanes have made landfall on the Gulf coast in November.
Hurricane Etna was the final such storm to take action. The 2020 hurricane made landfall in Nicaragua, Cuba, Decrease Matecumbe Key and Cedar Key, Florida, WDSU reported.
Rafael is the seventeenth named storm of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, in line with NBC Information. Rafael will change into the eleventh hurricane if it grows in energy; the Atlantic hurricane season usually sees 14 named storms, with seven hurricanes, three amongst these thought-about main.
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Whereas the Atlantic hurricane season ends on 30 November, it’s often most energetic round 10 September, NBC Information stated. The 2024 Atlantic hurricane season had 10 named storms from 24 September to 4 November, which is the “most on file for this time span”.
Meteorologists had anticipated an unusually energetic hurricane season because of record-high sea floor temperatures within the Atlantic Ocean. Rising sea temperatures are extensively attributed to international warming primarily pushed by people’ burning of fossil fuels.
The 2024 Atlantic hurricane season has wreaked intensive destruction within the US. Hurricane Milton, which made landfall in Florida on 9 October, resulted in dozens of deaths and price a whopping $50bn in harm.
Simply two weeks earlier, Hurricane Helene’s rains razed total cities in western North Carolina, killing lots of. Earlier than putting North Carolina, Hurricane Helene’s lethal storm surge flooded massive parts of Florida, destroying houses and companies.
It additionally devastated a number of different south-eastern US states.
