A severe storm hit the José Martí International Airport in Havana this Friday, leaving a total of 71.8 mm of rain in just one hour, accompanied by gusts of wind and numerous lightning strikes, according to images shared by the page Hola Habana on Facebook.
The meteorologist Claudia Espinosa, from the Forecast Center of the Institute of Meteorology of Cuba (INSMET), was cited as the source of the information.
The images from the event show a commercial airplane parked on the tarmac under extreme conditions, with water accumulating on the runway, very limited visibility, and ground equipment exposed to the winds.
A total of 71.8 mm in one hour is an extreme value that far exceeds the thresholds for intense rainfall—typically defined as starting at 50 mm per hour in tropical meteorology—and places it among the most severe episodes recorded on the island in 2026.
September is statistically one of the rainiest months in Cuba, with a high frequency of afternoon convective storms favored by daytime heating, humidity in the lower layers, and southeast winds.
The Boyeros area, where the airport is located, has historically been prone to such phenomena during the rainy season.
The INSMET had issued a warning about heavy rains and thunderstorms in much of the country, with the possibility of locally intense episodes.
The most recent event adds to a series of severe storms that have affected various provinces in Cuba so far this year. In May, a severe local storm caused flooding in Las Tunas with 62 mm of rain in just over an hour and gusts of up to 80 km/h, while in Bayamo, 81.5 mm were recorded in one hour with winds exceeding 100 km/h and hail.
The José Martí Airport has a history of being impacted by weather phenomena. In May 2025, a weak tornado in Santiago de Las Vegas generated gusts of up to 138 km/h in the vicinity of the airport.
In November 2024, the passage of Hurricane Rafael forced the suspension of air transportation in the western part of Cuba. And in July of that same year, a flight from Madrid was diverted to Miami due to heavy rain over the airport area.
So far, there has been no official confirmation of the airport closure or flight diversions as a result of the storm that occurred this Friday.
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