local time (1900 GMT), the eye of the hurricane passed over San Antonio Cape, the westernmost point of the Caribbean island, as heavy rains and hurricane-force winds lashed the province of Pinar del Rio and the Isle of Youth.
DFA advised the estimated 232,000 Filipinos in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina to prepare for storm surges, heavy rainfall, and hurricane-force winds until Thursday (Friday, Manila time).
'The Filipino community should prepare for storm surges, heavy rainfall, and hurricane-force winds until Thursday,' Ambassador Jose Manuel Romualdez said.
Forecasters warned that the same system could soon strengthen into a "bomb cyclone" as it rolls up the East Coast, bringing hurricane-force winds, coastal flooding and up to a foot of snow, Chicago Tribune reported.
Hurricane-force winds extend outward from the centre of the storm up to 110 kilometres away, while tropical storm-force winds extend outward up to 315 kilometres.