NOAA Satellites Watch Hurricane Rafael Make Landfall in Cuba (Video)

As we approach the final days of November, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is providing an update. GOES East satellite is busy keeping an eye on what is now the 17th storm of the season.

It’s been a pretty wild ride lately after the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season got off to a quieter start. Two previous storms, Hurricane Milton and Hurricane Helene, caused billions of dollars in damage and claimed hundreds of lives across the southeastern United States in September and October. The most recent storm, Hurricane Rafael, began developing in late October and has now become more of a tropical system as November begins. On November 5th it strengthened into a hurricane.

The storm has Cuba in its sights and will move northwest west of Jamaica in the coming days. In the warm waters of the Caribbean Sea, Rafael continued to strengthen and reached hurricane status on November 6, striking the Cuban province of Artemisa as a Category 3 major hurricane with sustained winds of 115 miles per hour (185 kilometers per hour). with even stronger gusts.

In the attached images taken by NOAA GOES East satellite, You can see in high resolution and crisp detail the powerful and large storm sweeping across the island in the eastern Caribbean. Thanks to this next generation weather satelliteforecasters can keep a close eye on the storm every step of the way.