“Dry air and intense wind shear will tear Rafael apart in the Gulf of Mexico. The hurricane will quickly lose wind intensity as it approaches the coast. There is a possibility that Rafael could end up meandering in the Gulf off the coast of Louisiana and never make landfall in the U.S. as it falls apart into a cluster of thunderstorms.”

As the center of Rafael moved on to the Gulf, parts of western Cuba were experiencing "life-threatening storm surge" and flash flooding, the hurricane center said Wednesday evening. All the while, the island's entire population of 10 million was once again left in the dark,

Powerful Hurricane Rafael slammed into Cuba as a major hurricane on Wednesday. The late-season tropical system has now emerged in the Gulf of Mexico, but the question now turns to where it is going next.