Hurricane Oscar nears landfall on the eastern coast of Cuba

ORLANDO, Fla. — Channel 9 meteorologists are monitoring two active systems in the tropics.

▶ WATCH CHANNEL 9 EYEWITNESS NEWS

11:40 a.m. update:

Hurricane Oscar is nearing another landfall on the eastern coast of Cuba.

11am EDT Oct 20th Key Messages for #Hurricane #Oscar which is expected to make landfall along the northern coast of southeastern Cuba later this afternoon.

Hurricane force winds, storm surge, & heavy rainfall leading to flash flooding & mudslides are possible in eastern Cuba. pic.twitter.com/nTKQFJIeC4
— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) October 20, 2024

Cuba’s mountainous terrain will help weaken the storm, but the mountains, paired with heavy rain, will lead to flash flooding and mudslides.

Oscar still has maximum sustained winds around 80 mph and is moving west-southwest at 7 mph.

7:40 a.m. update:

The National Hurricane Center said Hurricane Oscar made landfall Sunday morning on the Great Inagua Island in the Caribbean.

Oscar is maintaining its Category 1 strength and has maximum sustained winds of around 80 mph.

Hurricane Oscar is forecast to impact Cuba on Sunday afternoon.

5am EDT Sunday Hurricane #Oscar Key Messages: Oscar currently over Great Inagua Island with 80 mph winds, forecast to reach eastern #Cuba late this afternoon as a hurricane.

See https://t.co/tW4KeGdBFb for the latest updates and details. pic.twitter.com/kF7jHSuh18
— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) October 20, 2024

Oscar is projected to slowly turn to the north and northeast over Monday and Tuesday.

The system should be moving back out to the Atlantic Ocean by Wednesday morning.

Thankfully, it is not forecast to impact Florida.

Read: American Red Cross: Help people affected by Hurricanes Milton and Helene

Original report:

Hurricane Oscar formed Saturday morning and was quickly upgraded to a Category 1 hurricane.

The 5 p.m. advisory from the National Hurricane Center has Oscar with winds of 85 mph.

By 11 p.m., maximum sustained winds remained at that speed.

PREVIOUS: Oscar strengthens into hurricane near Turks and Caicos Islands

WFTV Eye on the Tropics Oscar became a Category 1 hurricane on Saturday. (WFTV staff)

Hurricane conditions are expected to continue into Sunday across the Turks and Caicos and the Southeastern Bahamas, where Hurricane Warnings are in effect.

Oscar is expected to move westward toward Cuba then sharply turn northeastward on Monday.

The system is expected to weaken to a tropical storm early next week and will likely be absorbed into a trough of low pressure by Wednesday.

READ: Rain chances rise in Central Florida as we finish out the weekend

Elsewhere, Tropical Storm Nadine developed early Saturday morning in the northwestern Caribbean and quickly made landfall by early afternoon along the coast of Belize.

Nadine will continue to move inland into Guatemala and southern Mexico and is expected to dissipate on Sunday.