MIAMI – Oscar is targeting Cuba after the small but powerful storm rapidly intensified over the weekend and made landfall in the Bahamas as a Category 1 hurricane early Sunday morning.

Hurricane Oscar quickly grew from a tropical storm to an 85-mph hurricane on Saturday, prompting islands in its potential path to issue warnings and warnings ahead of the storm’s arrival.

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Oscar made landfall on Great Inagua Island just before 5 a.m. ET on Sunday as a Category 1 hurricane with winds of 80 mph.

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The hurricane, previously named Invest 94L, barely held on to its tropical development outlook on Friday. But Oscar found a patch of warm water and atmospheric conditions he liked, and a clearly defined center quickly developed Saturday morning.

In addition to the wind gusts, rain amounts of 2 to 4 inches, with isolated totals of up to 6 inches, are expected across the region through Tuesday.

Hurricane warnings have been posted for the southeastern Bahamas and parts of northeastern Cuba. Tropical storm warnings cover parts of eastern Cuba.

WHAT TO DO WHEN HURRICANE OR TROPICAL STORM WATCHES AND WARNINGS ARE ISSUED

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The hurricane is one of the smallest cyclones ever recorded in the Atlantic basin, with hurricane-force winds (over 75 miles per hour) extending just 5 miles (8 kilometers) beyond the center.

A Hurricane Hunter aircraft also determined that the cyclone’s eye was just over three miles wide, making it one of the smallest features since Hurricane Wilma in 2005.

Due to Oscar’s small size, fluctuations in intensity will be common as the cyclone can take advantage of dry air and shear.

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Oscar became the second named storm to be named on Saturday, joining Tropical Storm Nadine, which was named early Saturday morning near Belize.

The NHC says Oscar is expected to continue moving west-southwest or west through Sunday evening, followed by a turn to the northwest and north on Monday and Tuesday.

On that track, the NHC said Hurricane Oscar will pass over Great Inagua Island on Sunday morning and then make landfall again along Cuba’s northeastern coast on Sunday afternoon or evening before passing over eastern Cuba overnight and into Monday. Oscar will then accelerate northeast over the central Bahamas on Tuesday.

TROPICAL STORM NADINE MAKES LANDFALL IN BELIZE AND THREATENS HOT RAIN IN SOUTHERN MEXICO

Could Oscar reach the US?

The weather pattern that will send Oscar away from Florida and the southeastern US

(FOX Weather)

While the northeastern Caribbean islands are monitoring Oscar’s progress, the storm remains no threat to the US

An extensive high-pressure ridge anchored over the east coast acts as a protective barrier, with a front at the ridge’s boundary providing hostile atmospheric conditions for tropical systems approaching Florida or the southeastern coast.