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,

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

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.