Hurricane Rafael is now a tropical storm with winds at 40 mph.Louisiana is no longer in the forecast cone; however, the state could see rain depending on how close the storm gets. Sign up for our NewslettersRafael is now in the Gulf of Mexico where it will rapidly lose strength in unfavorable conditions.

The United States, particularly Florida, should catch a break as the latest forecast from AccuWeather shows that Rafael won't make landfall here.

The National Hurricane Center forecasts Tropical Storm Rafael to grow into the season’s 11th hurricane Tuesday as it moves toward Cuba with winds and storm surge expected to affect the Florida Keys this week.

Tropical Storm Rafael formed in the Caribbean on Monday, a storm that's predicted to intensify into a hurricane and threaten the Gulf Coast this weekend.

Tropical Storm Rafael is expected to weaken as the NHC tracks another system in the Caribbean that is expected to move into "unfavorable conditions."

"Rafael poses no direct threat to land, but swells from the storm are still contributing to an elevated rip current risk along the northern and western Gulf Coast, and this will likely continue into Monday before subsiding on Tuesday,

Rafael weakened on Saturday and is expected to remain a tropical storm in the central Gulf of Mexico from Sunday into Monday, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) announced. On Saturday morning, the agency said the storm was about 290 miles of Progreso,