Rafael strengthened into a low-end hurricane Tuesday night as it approached the Cayman Islands in the central Caribbean Sea, the National Hurricane Center said. The rare November hurricane was expected to continue churning northwest toward western Cuba and enter the Gulf of Mexico this week,

Hurricane Rafael will eventually make it into the Gulf of Mexico, but the atmosphere will be hostile for a tropical system.

Tropical Storm Rafael formed in the Caribbean on Monday, a storm that's predicted to intensify into a hurricane and threaten the Gulf Coast this weekend.