The National Hurricane Center said Hurricane Rafael grew into a major Category 3 storm Wednesday and made landfall in Cuba on its way into the Gulf of Mexico, while the Florida Keys remained under a tropical storm warning.

Rafael made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane Wednesday afternoon in western Cuba before weakening, the National Hurricane Center said.In a 7 p.m. update, the center said Rafael was 55 miles west-northwest of Havana,

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,