Hurricane Oscar hit the Bahamas on Sunday morning and is pummeling towards Cuba, where it is expected to bring heavy rain and gusty wind to the island nation.
The storm made landfall on Great Inagua Island - the most southern-located district of the Bahamas - with winds hitting a high of 80mph, falling under the tier of a Category 1 hurricane.
It is expected to hit eastern Cuba by Sunday afternoon, bringing with it around ten inches of rain and possibly raising ocean levels by four feet, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Heavy rain falling in the steep terrain of southeastern Cuba raises serious concerns about major flash flooding as well as mudslides and rockslides, said AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jon Porter.
Hurricane Oscar made landfall on Great Inagua Island - the most southern-located district of the Bahamas - on Sunday morning, with winds hitting a high of 80 mph
The hurricane is expected to bring around ten inches of rain and possibly raising ocean levels by four feet to eastern Cuba
Unfortunately, the combination of these factors may result in a humanitarian crisis in some parts of southeast Cuba should a more intense Oscar make a close pass or even make landfall in Cuba.
Current predictions said the storm could weaken once it hits Cuba and move across the island through Monday before accelerating northeastward across the central Bahamas on Tuesday.
A message advisory was released at 5 a.m. ET on Sunday by the National Hurricane Center said heavy rainfall from Hurricane Oscar will lead to flash flooding in areas across east Cuba, coupled with possible mudslides through Tuesday.
But the storm isnt expected to hit Florida, to the states relief after being decimated by Hurricane Helene and Milton in back-to-back weeks.
Tropical Storm Nadine also made landfall on Saturday morning in Belize City around 11 a.m. with winds around 60 mph, according to Fox 35.
Oscar is the 15th storm thats been named in the Atlantic this hurricane season. Since before the update on the hurricanes path, Cuba has been dealing with widespread blackouts due to problems with its electric grid.
It is expected to hit eastern Cuba on Sunday afternoon while the island deals with blackouts that have caused 11 million people to be without power
The National Hurricane Center said heavy rainfall from Hurricane Oscar will lead to flash flooding in areas across east Cuba coupled with possible mudslides through Tuesday
Cubas President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez (pictured) said his administration is working hard to protect people and economic resources as Hurricane Oscar approaches
The blackouts began on Friday morning, leaving 11 million people without electricity after the Antonio Guiteras power plant in the western province of Matanzas failed.
Official were able to bring the power back online by Saturday - restoring nearly 500 megawatts of energy to 16 percent of customers, according to Cubas President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez.
The hurricane is expected to make the countrys ongoing electricity problem worse.
Bermúdez wrote on X on Saturday that his administration is working hard to protect people and economic resources as Hurricane Oscar approaches.
The hurricane is forecast to bring rainfall amounts of five to 10 inches with isolated amounts of 15 inches across eastern Cuba through Wednesday.
Across the southeastern Bahamas, three to five inches are expected, with isolated amounts around 8 inches, and across the Turks and Caicos, an additional two to four inches of rain is expected through Wednesday morning.
Cuban officials were able to bring the power back online by Saturday - restoring nearly 500 megawatts of energy to 16 percent of customers
The grid collapsed again on Saturday at 10:15 p.m. The hurricane is expected to make this electricity problem worse for the population as they deal with the third night without power
According to the National Hurricane Center, maximum sustained winds remain near 80 mph with higher gusts.
Hurricane Oscar could bring dangerous surf and increasing downpours that could put the island nation at risk.
Such hurricane impacts to Cuba is extremely concerning because of the ongoing power grid crisis in Cuba, Porter said.
Adding a hurricane hit on top of the existing power failure can make the hurricane impact far worse than what would occur in another hurricane impacting Cuba, further risking lives and resulting in challenges in preparing for, responding to, and recovering from the hurricanes impacts.