Hurricane Rafael forms in the Caribbean, tropical storm watch for Florida Keys

Rafael was upgraded to a Category 1 hurricane Tuesday night, and is expected to strengthen further, possibly becoming a Category 2 or 3 storm, according to FOX 35 meteorologist Noah Bergren.

As of 7:20 p.m., Rafael was 20 miles southeast of Little Cayman, and 305 miles south-southeast of Havana, Cuba with sustained winds of 75 mph. It is moving northwest at 15 mph.

Tropical storm warnings have been issued for the Florida Keys.

Rafael is the 17th named storm - and 11th hurricane – of the the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season.

The system will still maintain hurricane status in the Gulf for a few days before weakening due to higher wind shear and cooler water (both hostile to hurricanes).

It is projected by the National Hurricane Center to make landfall in Louisiana or Mississippi this weekend as a Tropical Storm, which is extremely rare. A tropical system has never made landfall in either of those states during November on record (since 1851).

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