Rafael is forecast to reach hurricane strength later today and intensify into a high-end Category 1 or possibly a Category 2 by the time it makes landfall in Cuba overnight.

Long-range computer forecasts are in much better agreement that a disturbance, tropical depression, or perhaps Tropical Storm Patty could track into the Gulf of Mexico late next week.

Tropical Storm Rafael is strengthening over the Caribbean Sea ahead of its arrival in the Gulf of Mexico this week, according to the National Hurricane Center.