Hurricane Rafael made landfall in the Cuban province of Artemisa on Wednesday evening as a Category 3 hurricane after it caused power outages and flooding in its trek past Jamaica and the Cayman Islands earlier in the day.

Hurricane Rafael slammed into Cuba as a major hurricane on Wednesday, and the late-season tropical system has now emerged in the Gulf of Mexico. But the question now turns to -- where is it going next?

Rafael was a tropical storm in the Gulf of Mexico Saturday evening Eastern time, the National Hurricane Center said in its latest advisory. The tropical storm had sustained wind speeds of 45 miles per hour. Follow our coverage here.

Hurricane Rafael made landfall in western Cuba Wednesday afternoon after it became a Category 3 hurricane earlier in the day. Rafael made landfall around 4:15 p.m. in the Cuban province of Artemisa, just east of Playa Majana, the National Hurricane Center said.

The center of the storm has become more exposed due to strong winds, and convective storms are displaced to the northeast of Rafael as shown on the enhanced satellite imagery. National Hurricane Center meteorologists expect Rafael to make a clockwise loop in the Gulf of Mexico before gradually shifting southward.

Rafael is now a post-tropical remnant. Follow here for the latest on storms for Monday, Nov. 11. Hurricane Rafael, the storm that pummeled Cuba this week with 115-mph winds and intense rainfall,

"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,

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