Hurricane Rafael is in the southern Gulf Thursday morning, beginning to turn more west. The storm is forecast to move west south of a ridge of high pressure sitting over the northeast Gulf. This will allow the storm to remain a hurricane into the early weekend. Luckily, with the storm staying trapped beneath the ridge, we don't expect it to come directly to the northern Gulf Coast. By this weekend the storm will begin to feel wind shear and that will start the weakening phase. Wind shear may carry some moisture our way this weekend, but it looks like the bulk of the rain with Rafael will stay well south of the area. Another impact will be higher than normal tides. Winds will stay breezy out of the east, so water will pile up 1-2 feet higher than normal through the weekend.