Hurricane Oscar made landfall Sunday morning in the southeast Bahamas and was heading towards Cuba, an island that recently suffered a massive blackout. The National Hurricane Center in Miami indicated that the center of the storm reached the island of Great Inagua. The storm was moving west at 19 km/h (12 mph) and is expected to make landfall in Guantánamo or Holguín, Cuba, on Sunday afternoon with hurricane strength.
Philippe Papin of the National Hurricane Center commented: "Unfortunately, the system approached us stealthily." Hours earlier, Tropical Storm Nadine formed off the southeast Caribbean coast of Mexico. It is forecasted to drop 5 to 10 centimeters (2 to 4 inches) of rain, with isolated amounts up to 15 centimeters (6 inches). Meteorologists indicated that up to 25 centimeters (10 inches) of precipitation, and even isolated amounts of up to 38 centimeters (15 inches), could fall along eastern Cuba through Thursday.
Oscar formed Saturday off the coast of the Bahamas and passed slightly south of the Turks and Caicos Islands. The National Hurricane Center had previously described the storm as "tiny," but hurricane warnings were in effect on Sunday in the southeast Bahamas and parts of Cuba. Maximum sustained winds were 130 kilometers per hour (80 miles per hour) with stronger gusts. Its center was located about 240 kilometers (150 miles) east-northeast of Guantánamo, Cuba.
It is expected to cause dangerous storm surges that could trigger serious flooding along that coast and other areas of the southeast Bahamas. It weakened to a tropical depression as it moved inland.
