Rafael strengthened into a hurricane before the its projected impact on Cuba Wednesday, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Rafael lashed the Cayman Islands in the western Caribbean with strong winds and heavy rain Tuesday night, and the Category 1 hurricane is expected to keep strengthening before it makes landfall in Cuba on Wednesday.

Hurricane Rafael is passing through the Cayman Islands in the Caribbean and is forecast to rapidly intensify before making landfall in western Cuba, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center.