SLP, Mexico.- The tropical storm Raphael formed this Monday in the waters of the Caribbean Sea, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHCfor its acronym in English), and the Forecast Center of the Cuban Institute of Meteorology (INSMET).
Tropical Depression Eighteen, localized in the central Caribbean Sea, it gained organization and a new reconnaissance flight detected that it has become the seventeenth tropical storm of the current cyclonic season, named Rafael.
According to INSMET, the maximum sustained winds increased to 75 kilometers per hour, with higher gusts, and the minimum central pressure decreased to 997 hectoPascal.
This afternoon, Rafael was located at 15.5 degrees North latitude and 76.7 degrees West longitude, a position that places it about 280 kilometers south of Kingston, Jamaica, 635 kilometers southeast of Grand Cayman Island and 920 kilometers north of southeast of Punta del Este, Isla de la Juventud.
Its movement is towards the north with a translation speed of 15 kilometers per hour.
The forecasts predict that in the next 12 to 24 hours this system will continue its movement, approaching the vicinity of Jamaica, and then tilt its path to the northwest. On that path it could gain in organization and intensity and could reach the category of hurricane near the Cayman Islands.
For this Monday, rain, showers and thunderstorms are expected in the eastern and central regions of Cuba, which may be strong and intense in some locations and, later, the precipitation will spread to the west.
The General Staff of the Civil Defense announced that, starting at 3:00 pm this Monday, the Alert Phase was established for the provinces of Matanzas, Mayabeque, Havana, Artemisa, Pinar del Río and the special municipality of Isla de Youth, given the possibility of being directly affected by the potential Hurricane Rafael.
The Civil Defense warned that the meteorological phenomenon “would gain more organization and intensity and in the next few hours it is expected to become a tropical storm, which could later reach the category of hurricane.”
This Sunday, the provinces of Guantánamo, Santiago de Cuba, Holguín, Granma and Las Tunas were declared in the Information Phase due to a trough that “has associated strong nuclei with activity of showers, rains and thunderstorms” near the eastern end of the country, according to the entity.
Hours later, The Information Phase was extended to the remaining provincesfrom Camagüey to Pinar del Río, including the special municipality of Isla de la Juventud.
