“Dry air and intense wind shear will tear Rafael apart in the Gulf of Mexico. The hurricane will quickly lose wind intensity as it approaches the coast. There is a possibility that Rafael could end up meandering in the Gulf off the coast of Louisiana and never make landfall in the U.S. as it falls apart into a cluster of thunderstorms.”

Hurricane Rafael blew through western Cuba on Wednesday night, flooding streets, damaging buildings and plunging millions of people into darkness. The country’s national power company said strong winds had caused the blackout.