Forecasters: Gustav makes landfall in southwest Haiti
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Hurricane could weaken over Haiti, but restrengthen en route to Cuba
Forecasters say Gustav could dump up to 20 inches of rain in some areas
Gustav could become Category 3 storm, with winds of at least 111 mph
Hurricane warnings, watches issued in Dominican Republic, Haiti, Cuba, Jamaica
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(CNN) -- Hurricane Gustav made landfall Tuesday on the southwestern peninsula of Haiti, near the city of Jacmel, forecasters said.
Hurricane Gustav is expected to hit Haiti on Tuesday and Cuba on Wednesday, forecasters say.
1 of 3 The National Hurricane Center said it expected the storm -- still a Category 1 when its center hit Haiti, about 10 miles west of Jacmel -- to reach Category 2 status by day's end.
The hurricane has winds nearing 90 mph (145 kph) and higher gusts, the center said.
The storm was expected to weaken slightly as it moves over Haiti, the center said, but it warned that the storm would restrengthen before approaching eastern Cuba on Wednesday.
Earlier, the center said the storm could become a Category 2 hurricane before reaching Haiti on Tuesday. iReport.com: See images of flooding in Dominican Republic
Category 2 hurricanes have sustained winds between 96 and 110 mph, and storm surges are generally 6 to 8 feet above normal.
Gustav may become a "major hurricane," or a storm that has reached at least Category 3 status, over the next few days, forecasters said.
The Cuban government issued a hurricane warning -- meaning that sustained winds of 74 mph (119 kph) are expected within a day -- for the provinces of Guantanamo, Santiago de Cuba and Granma.
As of 2 p.m. ET, Gustav was about 40 miles (60 kilometers) southwest of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and about 190 miles (310 kilometers) southeast of Guantanamo, Cuba.
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The Associated Press reported that at Port-au-Prince's airport, stranded travelers crowded around an airlines counter trying to rebook flights that had been canceled.
"I knew it was coming, but I was hoping to be out before it came," Jody Stoltzfus, a 27-year-old missionary, told the AP. She had been heading home to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, for a two-week stay.
The storm was moving northwest at 10 mph (16 kph), the hurricane center said. Gustav was expected to slow and turn west-northwest Wednesday.
"On this track, this hurricane should move over southwestern Haiti later today and near or just south of eastern Cuba on Wednesday," forecasters said.
The storm was expected to dump about 4 to 8 inches of rain over Hispaniola, eastern Cuba and Jamaica, with isolated amounts of up to 20 inches.
"These rains will likely produce life-threatening flash floods and mudslides," the center said. "Coastal storm surge flooding of 2 to 4 feet above normal tide levels, along with large and dangerous battering waves, can be expected near and to the east of where the center makes landfall." iReport.com: Send us your photos, stories
In addition to the Cuban provinces, a hurricane warning remained in effect from Barahona, Dominican Republic, to Le Mole St. Nicholas, Haiti.
A hurricane watch -- meaning that sustained winds of 74 mph (119 kph) are expected within 36 hours -- extended from Le Mole St. Nicholas, Haiti, to the northern Haiti-Dominican Republic border, as well as for the Cuban provinces of Las Tunas and Holguin.
Jamaica was also under a hurricane watch, the hurricane center said.
Parts of Haiti and the Dominican Republic were battered less than two weeks ago by Tropical Storm Fay. At least 10 people died in Haiti as the storm swept through.
Gustav is the seventh named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season
