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,

Hurricane Rafael made landfall in western Cuba as a Category 3 storm Wednesday, bringing sustained winds of up to 115 mph as it batters the already ravaged island before heading to the Gulf of Mexico and churning toward the U.

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.