Hurricane Rafael weakens as it moves toward the Gulf of Mexico
Hurricane Rafael is currently a Category 2 storm, located 260 miles west-northwest of Havana, Cuba, with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph. It is moving west-northwest at 9 mph. The storm is expected to move over the southern Gulf of Mexico in the coming days. Meteorologists predict that Rafael will begin to weaken on Friday and continue to do so through the weekend. Swells from Rafael are likely to create dangerous surf and rip current conditions across much of the Gulf of Mexico over the next few days.