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Hurricane Rafael Maps Tracker | Weather.com
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Track Rafael with our collection of maps here.

ByJonathan Belles•November 7, 2024

Tropics Terminology: What You Need To Know

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Hurricane R​afael is tracking into the Gulf of Mexico after making landfall in Cuba.

Y​ou can track all of its threats and forecasts with the maps below. And i​f you're seeking a more in-depth look at Rafael, click here.

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C​urrent Alerts

T​ropcial storm and hurricane alerts

A watch is issued when tropical storm or hurricane conditions are possible within 48 hours. A warning is issued when those conditions are expected within 36 hours.

C​urrent Information

C​urrent Satellite

The highest cloud tops, corresponding to the most vigorous convection, are shown in the brightest red colors. Clustering, deep convection around the center is a sign of a healthy tropical cyclone.

C​urrent Winds

The orange circle shows the extent of the system's tropical-storm-force winds (at least 39 mph). The purple circle indicates the extent of hurricane-force winds (at least 74 mph), according to the National Hurricane Center.

F​orecast And Threats

F​orecast Cone of Uncertainty

The red-shaded area denotes the potential path of the center of the tropical cyclone. It's important to note that impacts (particularly heavy rain, high surf, coastal flooding, winds) with any tropical cyclone usually spread beyond its forecast path.

Projected Path

S​paghetti Models

The lines on this graphic represent several of the many track forecasts from various computer models. This is not an official forecast, but these are used as guidance for creating the projected path.

Forecast Model Tracks

F​orecast Rainfall

This should be interpreted as a broad outlook of where the heaviest rain may fall. Higher amounts may occur where bands or clusters of thunderstorms stall for over a period of a few hours.

F​orecast Tropical-Storm-Force Wind Probabilities

The contours above show the chance of tropical-storm-force winds (at least 39 mph) and when they could first arrive, according to the latest forecast by the National Hurricane Center.

E​nvironmental Conditions

F​orecast Wind Shear

H​istory

T​rack History

Jonathan Belles has been a graphics meteorologist and writer for weather.com for 8 years and also assists in the production of videos for The Weather Channel en español. His favorite weather is tropical weather, but also enjoys covering high-impact weather and news stories and winter storms. He's a two-time graduate of Florida State University and a proud graduate of St. Petersburg College.

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