ORLANDO, Fla. — Hurricane Rafael was downgraded to a tropical storm as it continued westward in the Gulf of Mexico posing no threat to land for now while the National Hurricane Center kept track of another system with low odds to develop into the next ...

Rafael has weakened to a tropical storm and was expected to dissolve over the Gulf of Mexico in the coming days after barreling across Cuba as a Category 3 hurricane.

National Hurricane Center. Forecasters say it will be a hurricane by the time it enters the southeast Gulf of Mexico by Tuesday night. The Lower and Middle Florida Keys from Key West of the Channel 5 bridge are now under a Tropical Storm Watch.