Hurricane Rafael It left Cuba after crashing into the island on Thursday morning Category 3 hurricane and disables the entire electrical grid for approximately 24 hours.

A significant change in the storm’s forecast track means the threat to the United States has decreased but increased to Mexico’s Gulf Coast.

After passing Cuba, Rafael entered the Gulf of Mexico Wednesday night and will move westward over the southern Gulf throughout the weekend. The storm will linger for days in the Gulf and will not make landfall as a weaker storm until early next week.

The worst of Rafael’s winds in Cuba ended early Thursday, but rain will continue through much of the day as cleanup efforts continue. The hurricane that caused the island’s power grid to collapse was the fifth major Atlantic hurricane of the year and the strongest hurricane this late in the year since 2020.

The hurricane rapidly intensified before reaching Cuba on Wednesday afternoon. Rapid condensation is occurring more frequently as the atmosphere and oceans warm due to fossil fuel pollution; Storm Rafael is the ninth storm to rapidly intensify in the Atlantic basin this year.

Power outage across Cuba

Rafael dealt a devastating blow, becoming the first Category 3 hurricane to hit Cuba since Ian in 2022 and the second hurricane to hit the country in recent weeks.

The national power system collapsed due to strong winds as Rafael approached the island, causing a nationwide power outage, government officials said on Wednesday.

“In the western region we had several fluctuations in the load of the system, which caused oscillations in the frequency of the system and led to a complete collapse of the system,” Electric Association national dispatch manager Félix Estrada Rodríguez told state television. .

Videos taken afterwards showed that the energy infrastructure was in disarray, with power poles dotted the streets. Hundreds of technicians were mobilized to restore power connections on Thursday, state media reported.

Operations at two power plants were partially restarted and power was restored to parts of eastern and central Cuba on Thursday afternoon, state media reported.

“Intensive work is being carried out in the western region to reconnect damaged lines and fully repair the national electricity system,” Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez said in a statement to X. he said.

The nation’s power grid has failed multiple times, including when Hurricane Oscar hit in October, killing at least 7 people.

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said on channel X that Havana, Mayabeque and Artemisa were greatly affected by the storm. Diaz-Canel also announced that he would travel to the affected areas to personally supervise rescue operations.

Thousands of people in western Artemisa state were evacuated from coastal areas before reaching land, officials said on state television. The core of Rafael made landfall just east of Playa Majana in the province.

Cuban civil defense put the western and central provinces on alert, urging people there to limit their movements. Havana’s normally crowded streets were largely empty Wednesday afternoon.

Rafael was the strongest hurricane to move through the northwestern Caribbean in November since 2009, according to NOAA data.

Big changes on Rafael’s path

When Rafael first formed, it looked like it would head directly toward the United States, like the other five storms this year. The National Hurricane Center’s initial forecast included parts of the Louisiana coast in the storm’s track forecast cone.

Now that the storm is in the Gulf, confidence in the forecast has finally increased, and Rafael is expected to remain south of the Gulf of Mexico over the next few days rather than moving north and approaching the US Gulf Coast.

As a result, the cone shifted dramatically westward, and aside from parts of southern Texas, the United States remained largely out of harm’s way.

Slight changes to Rafael’s final path are still possible in the coming days, but Mexico’s Gulf Coast faces the highest risk of impact. Winds disrupting the storm will negatively impact Rafael over the weekend, and it will likely revert to tropical storm status early next week well before it makes landfall.

Rafael will indirectly impact the US Gulf Coast by churning up rough seas in the Gulf over the next few days. Dangerous rip currents are also possible.

When Rafael entered the Gulf of Mexico Wednesday night, it became the fifth hurricane to move through the Gulf of Mexico in November since 1966, according to hurricane expert Michael Lowry.

Chevron said it transported all personnel to shore and halted production on oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico ahead of Rafael’s approach. Shell and BP have moved some non-essential personnel away from various drilling platforms, according to news from both companies.

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