MIAMI – Rafael strengthened to reach hurricane status and remains on track to emerge in the Gulf of Mexico, where millions of people from Texas to Florida will be keeping their eyes on the late-season hurricane.HURRICANE RAFAEL TRACKER: FORECAST CONE, SPAGHETTI PLOTS, MAPS, ALERTS AND MORERafael intensified into a hurricane as it spun across the western Caribbean. It brought tropical storm conditions to Jamaica ahead of anticipated hurricane conditions in places such as the Cayman Islands and western Cuba.HOW TO WATCH FOX WEATHERHeavy rain is expected across areas of the western Caribbean, including Jamaica, the Cayman Islands, and western and southern parts of Cuba. There, 3-6 inches of rain is expected, with locally higher amounts of up to 10 inches possible across the higher terrain of Jamaica and Cuba.That could lead to areas of flash flooding and mudslides.DOWNLOAD THE FREE FOX WEATHER APPRafael continues to spin in the Caribbean, moving northwest toward Cuba. Forecasters say additional strengthening is likely for Rafael as the storm continues on its journey toward western Cuba and eventually into the Gulf of Mexico.HOW ARE HURRICANES RATED? THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON HURRICANE WIND SCALE EXPLAINEDDue to the potentially dangerous and deadly threat that Rafael poses, numerous tropical weather alerts have been issued across the region from the Caribbean to the Southeast in the U.S., including Florida. WHAT TO DO WHEN HURRICANE OR TROPICAL STORM WATCHES AND WARNINGS ARE ISSUED FOR YOUR TOWNAccording to the NHC, Hurricane Rafael is expected to continue on a generally northwestward movement over the next few days. On that track, the NHC said the hurricane is expected to continue to move away from Jamaica on Tuesday, be near or over the Cayman Islands on Tuesday night and be near or over western Cuba on Wednesday.There are still some questions about what will happen next with Rafael after it moves into the Gulf of Mexico, and those along the U.S. Gulf Coast should continue to monitor its progress.”It’s too soon to determine what, if any, impacts Rafael could bring to portions of the northern Gulf Coast,” the NHC said. “Residents in this area should regularly monitor updates to the forecast.