Hurricane Rafael continues to strengthen and is currently a Category 2 storm.
The National Hurricane Center upgraded the storm earlier this morning. Current max winds are at 110 miles per hour, just below major category 3 strength.
Rafael swirled past the Cayman Islands earlier this morning and it is forecast to rapidly intensify before making landfall later in the day in western Cuba.
Models have trended towards Rafael moving more westward after entering the Gulf of Mexico. South Louisiana is no longer currently in the NHC forecast cone.
"Regardless of the exact track impacts at this time are expected to be quite minimal and may now be confined to higher winds and seas," the local National Weather Service office said on Facebook Wednesday.