At 700 PM EST (0000 UTC), the center of Tropical Storm Rafael was located by Air Force Reconnaissance aircraft near latitude 15.8 North, longitude 76.9 West.
Rafael is now moving toward the north-northwest near 9 mph (15 km/h). A more northwestward motion is expected to begin later tonight and forecast to continue for the next few days.
On the forecast track, the system is expected to move near Jamaica during the overnight period, be near or over the Cayman Islands late Tuesday, and approach Cuba on Wednesday.
Maximum sustained winds are near 45 mph (75 km/h) with higher gusts. Steady to rapid strengthening is forecasted, and the system could become a hurricane on Tuesday.
Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 105 miles (165 km) from the center. The latest minimum central pressure recently measured by dropsonde data from the Air Force Hurricane Hunters is 1000 mb (29.53 inches).
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