Weatherhood B.C.

HAVANA (AP) — Hurricane Rafael pushed into the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday night after plowing across western Cuba as a Category 3 hurricane with winds so powerful it knocked out the entire country's power grid.

Environment Canada is warning of heavy rain on British Columbia's north coast, where some lost power Wednesday, while the lights remained off for a few thousand BC Hydro customers across the south coast after Monday's heavy winds.

CALGARY — Oilsands producer MEG Energy Corp. expects its full-year 2024 production to come in towards the lower end of its forecast range, in part due to the wildfires that forced a temporary evacuation of its Christina Lake site in July.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A couple in their 70s who served as election poll workers were among at least five people killed in Missouri after torrential rains caused flash flooding across the state.

BC Hydro shared a photo of a damaged and burnt substation.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Tropical Storm Rafael strengthened to near hurricane intensity Tuesday night, as it barreled toward the Cayman Islands and Cuba, where it was forecast to hit as a hurricane.

Tens of thousands of people were without power from the windstorm.

"It's shocking watching it back."

British Columbia's Crown utility says crews have restored power to 95 per cent of some 290,000 businesses and homes that were in the dark at some point Monday as strong winds battered coastal areas and parts of the central Interior.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Tropical Storm Rafael formed Monday in the Caribbean and will bring heavy rain to Jamaica and the Cayman Islands before strengthening into a hurricane and likely hitting Cuba, forecasters said.