Rafael lashed the Cayman Islands in the western Caribbean with strong winds and heavy rain Tuesday night, and the Category 1 hurricane is expected to keep strengthening before it makes landfall in Cuba on Wednesday.

Hurricane Rafael was gaining strength as it churned north towards western Cuba early on Wednesday, the National Hurricane Center said, warning it could approach major hurricane status before slamming into the Caribbean island later in the day.

Hurricane Rafael will eventually make it into the Gulf of Mexico, but the atmosphere will be hostile for a tropical system.

Tropical Storm Rafael has strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane as it swirled past Jamaica and chugged toward western Cuba

Hurricane Rafael swirled past the Cayman Islands and was expected to rapidly intensify before making landfall on Wednesday in western Cuba, where it's forecast to hit as a Category 2 hurricane. It was another stroke of bad news for Cuba,

Tropical Storm Rafael was rapidly picking up steam on Tuesday afternoon as it chugged toward the Cayman Islands in the Caribbean, and will likely become a hurricane in the next few hours, according to the U.

Rafael was expected to continue to pass by Jamaica through Tuesday afternoon, be near or over the Cayman Islands on Tuesday night, and make landfall in Cuba on Wednesday.