Michelle roars to hurricane strength near Cuba

A man walks a flooded street in La Lima, Honduras, on Wednesday.

MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- Michelle has been upgraded to a hurricane, the eighth of the Atlantic season. The storm, packing 75-mph winds, is expected to intensify Friday.

Hurricane Watches cover much of western Cuba, including Havana. The storm is moving very slowly, but may begin to affect Cuba over the weekend, and the National Hurricane Center warns Florida residents to keep a close eye on the storm through the weekend.

Hurricane watches are now in effect for the Cuban provinces of Pinar del Rio, La Habana, Havana City, Matanzas and the Isle of Youth, the Miami-based hurricane center said.

Late in the weekend, the storm is expected to turn more toward the east. Exactly when that occurs will determine whether the storm will effect the United States.

MICHELLE INFORMATION At 7 a.m. EST Friday STATUS Hurricane POSITION Near latitude 17.8 north, longitude 83.9 west, or about 290 miles (465 km) south-southeast of the western tip of Cuba MOVEMENT North, northwest at near 3 mph (6 km/hr) WIND SPEED Near 75 (120 km/hr) and 70 mph (113 km/hr) OUTLOOK Additional strengthening likely in next 24 hours

The computer models are split as to whether the storm will turn quickly and miss south Florida entirely or move to south Florida and then turn.

Early Friday, the center of the storm churned about 290 miles south-southeast of the western tip of Cuba. Its eye was over Swan Island. Wind gusts have fluctuated since Thursday night.

Michelle was moving erratically toward the north-northwest near 3 mph, the National Hurricane Center said. A slow north or north-northwest motion is expected over the next 24 hours.

Tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 115 miles from the center. Intermittent but locally heavy rain is expected to fall over the Cayman Islands, Jamaica and Cuba during the next day or two.

In addition, 3 to 6 inches (75 to 150 millimeters) of rainfall may occur across portions of central and eastern Cuba overnight, where extensive flooding has already occurred.