NHC monitoring Hurricane Oscar as it nears Cuba

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Hurricane Oscar is being closely monitored by the National Hurricane Center as it approaches eastern Cuba on Sunday.

In the 2 p.m. update, the hurricane has maximum sustained wind speeds of 80 mph and is moving westward at 7 mph.

The NHC said Oscar is expected to reach Guantanamo and Holguin, Cuba as a Category 1 by Sunday afternoon.

“The storm is running into a frontal boundary, which will cause it to curve back to the northeast and move out into the open Atlantic,” Max Defender 8 Meteorologist Rebecca Barry said.

As soon as the hurricane reaches land, the NHC expects the system to deteriorate.

The system is not a threat to Florida. 

Oscar became a tropical storm Saturday morning and quickly reached hurricane strength by 2 p.m. as it neared landfall in the Bahamas.