Tropical Storm Rafael formed in the Caribbean on Monday, a storm that's predicted to intensify into a hurricane and threaten the U.S. Gulf Coast by this weekend, the National Hurricane Center said.
However, given significant uncertainties in the long-range forecast track and intensity, it is too soon to determine what, if any, impacts could occur in the U.S., the hurricane center said.
"There has never been a tropical storm or hurricane landfall in Texas, Louisiana or Mississippi during November and December. So that would be quite a milestone, but this does not mean that people along the central and western Gulf Coast should let their guard down," AccuWeather lead hurricane expert Alex DaSilva said.