Hurricane Rafael intensified to a Category 2 storm while churning toward western Cuba and the Isle of Youth, where it is expected to make landfall Wednesday before turning into the Gulf of Mexico, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

Rafael strengthened into a low-end hurricane Tuesday night as it approached the Cayman Islands in the central Caribbean Sea, the National Hurricane Center said. The rare November hurricane was expected to continue churning northwest toward western Cuba and enter the Gulf of Mexico this week,