Tropical Storm Rafael strengthened into a Category 1 Hurricane near the Cayman Islands on Tuesday evening, the National Hurricane Center said.

The center’s 7:20 p.m. update said Rafael was located 20 miles southeast of Little Cayman with maximum sustained winds of at least 75 mph. It was moving northwest at 15 miles per hour.

A hurricane warning went into effect Tuesday for the Cayman Islands and the Cuban states of Pinar del Rio, Artemisa, Mayabeque, Matanzas and Youth Island. Havana was also subject to the warning indicating hurricane conditions, including destructive winds and flooding, within 36 hours.

Federal forecasters said a storm surge of 6 to 9 feet was possible overnight along Cuba’s south coast.

A tropical storm warning is in effect for the Cuban provinces of Camaguey and Las Tunas, while a tropical storm warning is in effect for Jamaica, the Lower and Central Florida Keys from Key West to west of the Channel 5 Bridge, and the Dry Tortugas. .

Rafael is expected to continue its northward march over the next few days, moving further westward, federal forecasters said. The storm was expected to be near or over western Cuba on Wednesday.

The weather is expected to become stronger before reaching Cuba, the center said Tuesday afternoon.

National Hurricane Center Director Michael Brennan said in a statement that the storm could reach Category 2 status, which requires sustained winds of at least 96 miles per hour, by the time it reaches Cuba. video update Tuesday.

Hurricane conditions are expected to hit the Cayman Islands on Tuesday evening, then western Cuba and the Isle of Youth on Wednesday. Tropical storm conditions were expected in Jamaica on Tuesday afternoon and in the lower and central Florida Keys on Wednesday.

The storm will also bring heavy rainfall to the Western Caribbean early Thursday, including 3 to 6 inches over western Cuba. Isolated higher totals of up to 10 inches are expected in upland areas in Jamaica and Cuba, which “could lead to flash flooding and landslides,” the hurricane center said.

Heavy rains will then spread north into Florida and adjacent parts of the southeastern U.S. by mid-to-late week, with 1 to 3 inches of rain expected in the Lower and Central Florida Keys.

Tornadoes may be visible in the southwest corner of Florida, including the Keys, starting Wednesday morning and extending into Wednesday afternoon, Brennan said.