 Rafael in the Gulf of Mexico near peak intensity early on November 8 | |
| Meteorological history | |
|---|---|
| Formed | November 4, 2024 |
| Remnant low | November 10, 2024 |
| Dissipated | November 11, 2024 |
| Category 3 major hurricane | |
| 1-minute sustained (SSHWS/NWS) | |
| Highest winds | 120 mph (195 km/h) |
| Lowest pressure | 956 mbar (hPa); 28.23 inHg |
| Overall effects | |
| Fatalities | 8 |
| Missing | 2 |
| Damage | >$31.6 million (2024 USD) |
| Areas affected | |
Part of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season | |
Hurricane Rafael was the strongest November tropical cyclone in the Gulf of Mexico on record, tied with 1985's Hurricane Kate.[1] The seventeenth named storm, eleventh hurricane, and fifth major hurricane of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season,[2] Rafael formed on November 4, 2024 from an area of low-pressure spawned by a Central American gyre. Steady organization occurred throughout the next two days, with Rafael becoming a hurricane early on November 6, as it moved northwest towards Cuba. Favorable conditions enabled the cyclone to rapidly intensify, becoming a Category 3 major hurricane later that day before making landfall in Cuba. Then, after weakening some while over land, it entered the Gulf of Mexico and re-intensified to a major hurricane once again at peak intensity early on November 8. Hostile conditions caused the hurricane to rapidly weaken afterwards, falling below hurricane intensity later that day, eventually degenerating into a remnant low on November 10. The circulation opened up into a trough the next day.
Two deaths have been confirmed in Jamaica as a result of flooding caused by Rafael. Additionally, at least five deaths in Panama occurred due to heavy flooding and landslides produced by Rafael's precursor disturbance, along with one death in Colombia. Preliminary damages are estimated to be at least US$31.6 million.
- ^ Patrick Smith (November 8, 2024). "Hurricane Rafael moves across Gulf of Mexico as a rare major November storm while Cuba recovers". NBC News. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
- ^ Masters, Jeff (November 7, 2024). "Rafael one of just three Cat2+ November hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico". New Haven, Connecticut: Yale Climate Connection. Retrieved November 7, 2024.