Tropical Storm Oscar swirls toward the Bahamas after hitting Cuba as a hurricane

Tropical Storm Oscar chugged toward the Bahamas on Tuesday after making landfall in Cuba as a Category 1 hurricane, killing at least six people as it unleashed heavy rains on an island also hit by an unrelated massive power outage.

Oscar was located 45 miles (75 kilometres) southeast of Long Island in the Bahamas on Tuesday morning. It had winds of 40 mph (65 km/h) and was moving northeast at 12 mph (19 km/h), according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami.

“Oscar is at best barely a tropical storm at this time,” the centre said.

It was expected to drop up to 5 inches (13 centimetres) of rain across the southeastern Bahamas, with up to 8 inches (20 centimetres) in isolated areas. A tropical storm warning was in effect for the central and southeastern Bahamas.

The storm made history as the smallest recorded hurricane, with a wind field of only about 6 miles (10 kilometres) across. It caught many by surprise as it made landfall in Grand Inagua Island in the Bahamas on Saturday and a second landfall in eastern Cuba late Sunday before making a sharp U-turn and heading back to the Bahamas.

“It’s not often we see a colossal failure in hurricane forecasting,” Michael Lowry, a hurricane specialist and storm surge expert, wrote in an analysis. He noted no models indicated Oscar would strengthen into a hurricane.

Oscar dropped at least 15 inches (38 centimetres) of rain in parts of eastern Cuba on Monday, with forecasters warning of heavy flooding and possible landslides. The six deaths were reported in Guantanamo.

The storm hit as Cuba struggled to recover from a massive blackout that also sparked a handful of small protests and a stern government warning that any unrest will be punished.

Oscar is the 15th named storm and the 10th hurricane of the Atlantic hurricane season, which begins June 1 and ends Nov. 30.

Long-range models are forecasting that another storm could develop in the central Caribbean in about a week.

“One last gasp may be in store for the Atlantic as we turn the calendar to November,” Lowry wrote.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted an above-average Atlantic hurricane season this year because of record-warm ocean temperatures. It forecast 17 to 25 named storms before the season ends, with four to seven major hurricanes of Category 3 or higher.

Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Kristy swirled over open waters in the Pacific Ocean.

It was located 375 miles (605 kilometres) west-southwest of Acapulco, Mexico, on Tuesday. It had maximum sustained winds of 50 mph (85 km/h) and was moving west-northwest at 15 mph (24 km/h). Kristy is expected to become a hurricane by Tuesday night.