Hurricane Rafael swirled past the Cayman Islands and was expected to rapidly intensify until making landfall on Wednesday in western Cuba, where it's forecast to hit as a Category 2 hurricane. It was another stroke of bad news for Cuba,

Cuba is bracing for Hurricane Rafael, which is expected to make landfall Wednesday and compound the misery wrought by a recent power blackout and Hurricane Oscar.The storm was expected to gain further power before making landfall in western Cuba.

Rafael continued to intensify on Tuesday night as it aimed to make landfall in Cuba as a Category 2 hurricane, forecasters said.