Rafael made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane Wednesday afternoon in western Cuba before weakening, the National Hurricane Center said.In a 10 p.m. update, the center said Rafael was moving away from western Cuba as it headed to the southeastern Gulf of Mexico,

Forecasters warned Rafael could bring “life-threatening” storm surges, winds, and flash floods to western swaths of the island after it knocked out power and dumped rain on the Cayman Islands and Jamaica the day before.

The hurricane is in rarified air for storms in November, but will be in much different shape as it approaches the US.