Tropical Storm Rafael is forming in the Caribbean

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Tropical Storm Rafael formed in the Caribbean on Monday and will bring heavy rain to Jamaica and the Cayman Islands before strengthening into a hurricane and likely hitting Cuba, forecasters said.

Later in the week According to the US National Hurricane Center in Miami, heavy rain is also expected to occur in Florida and parts of the southeastern US.

A tropical storm warning was in effect for Jamaica and a hurricane warning was in effect for the Cayman Islands and parts of Cuba, including the provinces of Pinar del Rio, Artemisa, La Habana, Mayabeque, Matanzas and the Isle of Youth. A tropical storm warning has been issued for Villa Clara, Cienfuegos, Sancti Spiritus, Ciego de Avila, Camagüey and Las Tunas in Cuba.

A tropical storm warning was also issued for the lower and central Florida Keys from Key West to west of the Channel 5 Bridge and for the Dry Tortugas.

The storm was located about 150 miles (245 kilometers) south of Kingston, Jamaica. The center said it had maximum sustained winds of 45 miles per hour (75 km/h) while moving north-northwest at a speed of 9 miles per hour (15 km/h).

The storm was expected to move near Jamaica late Monday, be near or over the Cayman Islands as a hurricane late Tuesday and approach Cuba on Wednesday.

Most forecasts call for the storm to peak as a Category 1 hurricane, “but conditions over the next few days will favor strengthening, so we need to monitor how quickly it develops, and a stronger hurricane cannot be ruled out.” “will happen,” Michael Lowry, a hurricane specialist and storm surge expert, wrote in an analysis Monday.

On Monday morning, the Cayman Islands government offered sandbags to people and announced that schools would close on Tuesday.

“Residents are urged to take immediate precautions to protect themselves and their property,” the government said in a statement.

In Jamaica, schools were also supposed to close on Tuesday and government offices on Monday afternoon.

The Cuban authorities announced on Monday evening that around 37,000 people still had to be evacuated due to bad weather in Cuba's far east, in Guantanamo province.

The latest development follows Tropical Storm Oscar, which There was heavy rain in Cuba In October, eight people died and there was a widespread power outage across the island due to a collapse in the national energy system.

Meanwhile, the Jamaica Observer newspaper reported on Sunday a large landslide in a rural area north of the capital Kingston, which authorities attributed to persistent rainfall ahead of the possible storm. No injuries were reported, but some communities remained isolated.

The western Caribbean will experience heavy rainfall, with local rainfall amounts of 3 to 6 inches (7 to 15 centimeters) and up to 9 inches (23 cm) expected in Jamaica and parts of Cuba. Floods and landslides are possible.

Rafael is the 17th named storm of the season.

On the opposite side of the Atlantic Ocean, Tropical Storm Patty dissipated.

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Andrea Rodríguez in Havana contributed to this report.

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