Tropical Storm Rafael strengthened into a Category 1 Hurricane on Tuesday evening near the Cayman Islands, the National Hurricane Center said.By 10 p.m., Rafael was passing the Caymans, its center having slipped through the waters between Grand Cayman and Little Cayman,

Rafael strengthened into a hurricane Tuesday evening as it lashed the western Caribbean with strong winds and heavy rain. The storm is expected to keep strengthening before it makes landfall in Cuba on Wednesday.

MIAMI - The lower and middle Florida Keys are now under a tropical storm warning as Tropical Storm Rafael is forecast to grow steadily as it churns past Jamaica's west coast on a path for Cuba, where it's expected to arrive later in the week as a hurricane.