Hurricane Rafael got a lot stronger overnight in the central Gulf of Mexico, but its track is still a head-scratcher.

The National Hurricane Center said Rafael had 120 mph winds on Friday morning, making it a strong Category 3 hurricane.

Rafael was at its peak strength on Friday and a major hurricane. Its winds climbed to 115 mph (also Category 3) on Wednesday as it made landfall in southwestern Cuba.

Normally a Category 3 hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico would be a big cause for concern. Not this time.

There are no watches and warnings in effect for Rafael, which is expected to stay out in the Gulf for the foreseeable future. No part of the Gulf Coast (either in the U.S. or Mexico) is in the hurricane center’s cone of uncertainty as of Friday.

As of 3 a.m. CST Friday, Hurricane Rafael was located about 585 miles east of the mouth of the Rio Grande River and was tracking to the west at 9 mph. The next update on the storm will come later this morning.

The hurricane center said Rafael should continue moving generally westward and slow down over the weekend.

The storm is also expected to start weakening today, and that trend should last through the weekend.

The hurricane center’s forecast track shows Rafael weakening to a tropical storm by Sunday and a non-tropical system by Wednesday — all while still in the Gulf and away from land.

Rafael is not expected to have any direct effects on land areas, but waves from the storm are forecast to cause rough surf, deadly rip currents along the Gulf Coast. There is a high rip current risk in effect as well as a coastal flood advisory.

Here’s the coastal outlook from the National Weather Service in Mobile: