Soon to be Hurricane Rafael is rapidly developing just south of Cuba and will strike the western provinces of the country before entering the Gulf of Mexico late tomorrow afternoon.
As indicated in yesterday’s tropical update, a strong Tropical Storm or Category 1 Hurricane would emerge into the Gulf and move parallel to the Florida west coast before turning more westward. That is still the best forecast. An ‘eye’ is forming which increases confidence that Rafael will shift its path more westward once it moves to the latitude of Naples.
Because the storm will be south of the Suncoast, our winds will be from the east and that will mean just gusty winds Wednesday though Thursday with some gusts to gale force winds Wednesday night along with scattered showers and thunderstorms. Since Milton’s rain, no precipitation has fallen until today. I expect general rainfall from this storm to be less than 1 inch.
Once Rafael moves away, we can look forward to a mild and dry winter season! There is an excellent chance that Rafael will be the last storm we see close to our area, following a long and brutal hurricane season!
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