**Hurricane Oscar Strikes Cuba with Powerful Winds and Torrential Rain**

Hurricane Oscar made a forceful entry onto the northern coast of eastern Cuba Sunday evening, reported by the National Hurricane Center. The hurricane hit land at 5:50 p.m. ET in Guantanamo province, near Baracoa city, unleashing maximum sustained winds of 80 mph at the time of impact.

Oscar, a Category 1 hurricane, moved west-southwest at a pace of 7 mph. Forecasts predict the storm will travel across eastern Cuba from Sunday night into Monday and accelerate northeastward across the central Bahamas by Tuesday. "Weakening is expected after landfall, but Oscar could still be a tropical storm when it moves north of Cuba late Monday and across the central Bahamas on Tuesday," stated the hurricane center.

Cuba has been in heightened alert, with the electrical grid failing twice within 24 hours as the nation braces for the storm. The north coast of Las Tunas province is under both a hurricane watch and tropical storm warning. Additionally, a tropical storm warning is active for the southeastern Bahamas and the south coast of Guantanamo, and a tropical storm watch for the north coast of Camaguey province.

Hurricane conditions and heavy rainfall are anticipated to impact eastern Cuba on Sunday night. Rainfall estimates range from 5 to 10 inches, with some areas potentially receiving up to 15 inches. The southeastern Bahamas could see between 3 to 8 inches of rain, while Turks and Caicos may experience 2 to 4 inches by Wednesday morning. Along Cuba's north shore, a storm surge of 1 to 3 feet is expected, accompanied by large and destructive waves near the coast.