Rafael continued to intensify on Tuesday night as it aimed to make landfall in Cuba as a Category 2 hurricane, forecasters said. The National Hurricane Center said in its 10 p.m. EDT Tuesday update that the storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 80 mph and was likely to rapidly intensify into a Category 2 hurricane before reaching Cuba on Wednesday.

Hurricane Rafael, a powerful category 2 storm verging on category 3, was bearing down on western Cuba Wednesday morning. As of the 10 a.m. update, the National Hurricane Center noted it was “very likely” that Rafael could be a major hurricane by the time it strikes the island nation, which has recently been struggling with prolonged power outages.

Tropical Storm Rafael is expected to strengthen and reach near "major hurricane strength" when it makes landfall in western Cuba, the National Hurricane Center said Wednesday morning. In a 4 a.m. ET update, the NHC said Rafael was 195 miles south-south ...