Rafael was a Category 2 hurricane on Thursday morning as it pulled away from Cuba and into the southern Gulf of Mexico.

The National Hurricane Center’s latest long-range track shows Rafael taking a westward path through the Gulf that may keep the storm well away from the northern Gulf Coast.

All coastal watches and warnings have been dropped for the storm as of Thursday morning.

The latest track forecast shows Rafael, which is expected to weaken to a tropical storm, in the western Gulf by Monday, and the cone of uncertainty doesn’t touch any part of the U.S.

However, the storm could churn up the Gulf and bring a high risk of rip currents to Alabama beaches through the weekend.

Here’s the coastal outlook for Alabama and northwest Florida from the National Weather Service:

As of 6 a.m. CST Thursday, the center of Hurricane Rafael was located about 195 miles west of Key West, Fla., and was moving to the northwest at 9 mph.

Rafael had winds of 105 mph, making it a Category 2 hurricane. So far Rafael’s peak has been 115 mph winds (Category 3) as it made landfall in western Cuba on Wednesday.

The hurricane center said some weakening is expected over the next few days, but Rafael could remain a hurricane through Sunday.

The storm is expected to turn to the west later today and continue on a westward path through at least Saturday. The hurricane center said an area of high pressure could move over the Gulf and push Rafael more to the south over the weekend.

However, that path is not a sure thing. Forecasters cautioned on Thursday that “there remains significant uncertainty in the future track of Rafael over the Gulf of Mexico and additional adjustments to subsequent official track forecasts are likely.”

The storm could drop an additional 2 to 4 inches of rain over Cuba today. The hurricane center said flash flooding and mudslides are possible along the island’s higher terrain.

Tropical storm winds will also remain possible for the Dry Tortugas today.