TRACKING TROPICAL STORM RAFAEL IN THE GULF OF MEXICO Rafael reached major hurricane status about 24 hours after becoming a tropical storm in the Caribbean Sea on Tuesday afternoon. Rafael lost intensity when moving into the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday after impacting Cuba as a powerful Category 3 hurricane.

Once a powerful Category 3 hurricane, Rafael has significantly weakened and downgraded to a tropical depression as it moves across the Gulf of Mexico. See the latest:

Rafael has weakened to a tropical storm and was expected to dissolve over the Gulf of Mexico in the coming days after barreling across Cuba as a Category 3 hurricane.