### Hurricane Rafael Brings Perilous Conditions to Gulf Coast Shores

Hurricane Rafael, the fierce storm that previously battered Cuba with winds reaching 115 mph and severe rainfall, is now predicted to avoid making landfall in the United States. However, the storm is expected to impact U.S. coastlines with high surf and dangerous rip currents through Monday.

On Friday, Rafael regained its status as a major hurricane, reaching maximum sustained winds of 120 mph, and produced significant swells across the Gulf of Mexico, according to the National Hurricane Center. The storm presented a high risk of life-threatening rip currents and substantial surf with large breaking waves along Gulf Coast beaches, stretching from Corpus Christi to the southern Florida peninsula, throughout the Veterans Day weekend, warned the National Weather Service.

"Swells generated by Rafael are expected to spread across most of the Gulf of Mexico over the next few days. These swells will likely cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions," stated the National Hurricane Center in its Friday forecast. Wave heights in Corpus Christi were forecast to reach up to 8 feet on Friday and as high as 10 feet over the weekend. Meanwhile, beaches in Alabama and the western Florida Panhandle were expected to see breakers as tall as seven feet.

In a Friday morning advisory, the hurricane center reported that Rafael, moving west as a Category 3 hurricane, was projected to weaken and become a tropical storm by Saturday. Rafael inflicted considerable damage on western Cuba, knocking out the island's entire electrical grid and exacerbating an ongoing crisis that has left many residents without power for over two weeks. Tens of thousands of Cubans evacuated in anticipation of the storm, and about 10 million were without power as restoration efforts continued, with Havana still largely in the dark according to state-run media.

Authorities anticipated an additional 2 to 4 inches of rainfall on Friday, contributing to total storm accumulations of up to 12 inches in parts of western Cuba—raising concerns about potential flash flooding and mudslides, particularly in higher terrain areas.

The U.S., specifically Florida, appears to be spared from direct landfall due to Rafael's westward trajectory, as forecasted by AccuWeather meteorologists. This diversion marks Rafael as the first hurricane of 2024 in the Gulf of Mexico not to impact the U.S. coast directly. According to AccuWeather, imminent U.S. effects will primarily be rough seas over the Gulf and turbulent surf along Gulf Coast beaches, with a possibility of rain in South Texas next week owing to residual moisture.

The hurricane, predicted to make a slight looping maneuver in the Gulf through Monday, is being influenced by a ridge extending from the Atlantic and a trough over the U.S. mainland. This geographical steering has redirected the storm away from a projected northern Gulf Coast landfall.

Historical data shows that at least a dozen storms since 1963 have executed similar loops within the Gulf, influenced by larger weather systems. For example, Hurricane Elena in 1985 took a circuitous route along Cuba before making an eventual landfall between New Orleans and Mobile, Alabama.