Hurricane Rafael causes complete blackout in Cuba

Miami (EFE).- The eye of Hurricane Rafael, a Category 3 hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of 185 kilometers per hour (115 mph), reached the southwestern coast of Cuba this Wednesday, in the center of Artemisa province. The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported that there was a widespread blackout on the island.

NHC meteorologists indicated that the Rafael vortex formed at 4:15 p.m. local time (21:15 GMT) about 65 kilometers (40 mi) southwest of the Cuban capital Havana and 50 kilometers (30 mi) south-southeast of Bahía Honda. Was located in the east. , also on the island.

The system is moving northwest with a forward speed of 22 kilometers per hour (14 mph).

Blackout in Cuba due to Hurricane Rafael

Since the early afternoon hours, Rafael has caused a new total blackout in Cuba, according to the island’s state-owned Electrical Union (UNE).

According to the forecast trajectory, it is expected that, after making landfall in western Cuba, it will continue to move southeastward across the Gulf of Mexico, bringing tropical storm conditions to the extreme south, across the center and south of the Florida Keys. Will be born. United States of America

Meteorologists have warned of a “dangerous storm surge” that could cause seas to rise nearly 4 meters above normal levels along parts of Cuba’s southern coast.

The NHC also warned that the system will bring heavy rain to areas of the western Caribbean by Thursday morning, especially in Jamaica, the Cayman Islands and western Cuba, where up to 300 millimeters of rain could be recorded.

Atlantic hurricane season

According to the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Atlantic hurricane season, which officially began on June 1 and ends on November 30, will have “above” average activity with 8 to 13 hurricanes 4 and 7. Will be of major category.

Since this year’s season began, eleven hurricanes have formed: Beryl, Debbie, Ernesto, Francine, Helen, Isaac, Kirk, Leslie, Milton, Oscar, and Rafael, of which Beryl and Milton reached Category 5, which is Saffir-Simpson has the highest intensity. scale.

Cuban authorities have repeatedly warned in recent days of the arrival of Rafael, the second typhoon to hit the country in the current hurricane season. Due to forecast flooding, thousands of Cubans have been evacuated.

This is the third time in just two years that a complete separation from the Cuban SEN has occurred and the second time it has been recorded in the last three weeks.

Overnight, Rafael will move toward the southeastern Gulf of Mexico tonight and produce tropical storm conditions in the central and southern Florida Keys.

Meteorologists have warned of a “dangerous storm surge” that could cause seas to rise nearly 4 meters above normal levels along parts of Cuba’s southern coast.