Oscar weakens to tropical storm after hitting Cuba as a Category 1 hurricane

Hurricane Oscar made landfall Sunday evening on the northern coast of east Cuba before it weakened to a tropical storm as it moved across the island, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Hurricane Oscar made landfall Sunday evening on the northern coast of east Cuba before it weakened to a tropical storm as it moved across the island, according to the National Hurricane Center.

The hurricane made landfall at 5:50 p.m. in the Cuban province of Guantánamo, near the city of Baracoa, the hurricane center said. It was a Category 1 storm at the time, with maximum sustained winds near 80 mph.

By 11 p.m., Oscar had weakened to a tropical storm with winds of 70 mph and higher gusts, according to the hurricane center. It was moving west-southwest at 6 mph.

Oscar was expected to bring heavy rain that was "likely to cause significant flash flooding and mudslides" as it charted its path across the eastern part of the country, the center said.

Even before the storm, Cuba has been almost completely in the dark since Friday following four major grid failures.

https://www.nbcnews.com/weather/hurricanes/hurricane-oscar-forms-bahamas-rcna176239

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