evening , the center of Paloma was about 25 miles -LRB- 40 kilometers -RRB- south of Grand Cayman Island and about 275 miles -LRB- 443 kilometers -RRB- southwest of Camaguey , Cuba . It was moving northeast at about 7 mph and was expected to pass near Grand Cayman Friday night and approach the coast of central Cuba late Saturday , the hurricane center said . The storm 's projected path would steer it away from the U.S. mainland and into the Atlantic . See where the hurricane could be headed '' J.B. Webb , a manager at a radio station on Grand Cayman , said Friday evening that some residents had gone to shelters and others were shutting themselves in downtown businesses rebuilt to withstand a Category 5 hurricane . He said the local government had advised people to be off the roads by 11 a.m. . The storm is expected to produce rainfall accumulations of 5 to 10 inches over the Caymans and central and eastern Cuba , with isolated maximum totals of 15 inches possible . Flash floods and mudslides are possible , forecasters said . Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 25 miles from the center
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Hurricane Paloma continued to intensify Friday night as the Category 3 storm pounded Grand Cayman island with strong winds and heavy rain . As of 10 p.m. ET Friday , Paloma was moving northeast through the Cayman Islands . The National Hurricane Center said additional strengthening of the storm could occur through Saturday night as Paloma turned northeast and headed toward Cuba . A hurricane warning was in effect Friday throughout the Cayman islands , with residents being told that `` preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion , '' the center said . A hurricane warning means that hurricane conditions are expected within 24 hours . Cuban officials also issued a hurricane warning for the provinces of Sancti Spiritus , Ciego de Avila , Camaguey and Las Tunas , the Miami , Florida-based hurricane center said in an advisory . As of 10 p.m. ET , Paloma 's winds were near 115 mph -LRB- 185 kph -RRB- with higher gusts . Paloma is forecast to approach Cuba as a Category 2 storm after weakening late Saturday , according to the hurricane center . Watch rainstorms beat the Cayman Islands '' Friday