Rafael becomes a major hurricane (Cat 3) as it nears landfall in Cuba. The storm will emerge in the Gulf of Mexico Wednesday evening where it will begin to restrengthen. We expect Rafael to remain a hurricane Thursday and Friday before wind shear and dry air weaken the storm. The intensity will decrease dramatically this weekend as wind shear blasts the storm. With rapid weakening there might not be much left of the storm to bring impacts to the northern Gulf Coast. At most it looks like extra rain is possible later Sunday.