The National Hurricane Center said Hurricane Rafael formed Tuesday evening on its way toward Cuba and the Gulf of Mexico while tropical storm warnings were issued for the Florida Keys.

Hurricane Rafael is continuing to strengthen as it approaches landfall in western Cuba on Wednesday, according to the National Hurricane Center.

This track to the west matches up nicely with typhoon “Yinxing” over the Western Pacific which will be moving near the far northern tip of the Philippines. Essentially this “typhoon correlation” telegraphs movement of Rafael as upper level (jet stream) currents over the W. Pacific mirror the Western Atlantic.