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Hurricane Beryl, a monster storm that is already shattering records, is churning across the Caribbean with Jamaica in its sights.
The earliest category 5 hurricane on record, Beryl now remains a strong category four storm after devastating parts of Grenada on Monday. Hurricane warnings are posted for the entire island of Jamaica, with the storm now just hours away.
Days ago, Beryl was forecast to move well south of the island nation as a category 2 storm, with wind speeds of roughly 110mph. The latest projections from the National Hurricane Center now show the center of Beryl passing just south of Kingston. When Beryl reaches Jamaica on Wednesday morning, it’s likely to be a category four, with winds in excess of 135mph.
On Tuesday, Deputy Prime Minister Dana Morris Dixon told Jamaicans to remain calm, but “take the threat Beryl poses seriously”.
“We know that leaving property behind can present a quandary,” Morris Dixon said, urging residents to heed evacuation orders. “But it’s better to observe the recommendation to evacuate and preserve your life.”
As Hurricane Beryl continues moving westward, the Texas and Mexico coastlines remain in its potential path.
The storm had already left behind widespread destruction and devastation on the islands of Carriacou and Petite Martinique. Grenada’s Prime Minister told news outlets on Monday that Beryl “flattened” the tiny islands in just half an hour.
In addition to hurricane force winds, portions of Jamaica, Haiti, and the Dominican Republican could see up to a foot of rainfall.
Beryl is expected to continue moving west, northwest after impacting Jamaica on Wednesday. The storm will likely cross Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula on Friday and enter the Gulf of Mexico by Saturday morning. The National Weather Service urges residents along the Mexico and Texas coast lines to monitor Beryl as the storm gets closer.
Beryl is already the third named storm of the Atlantic Hurricane season, which officially started on June 1. Experts predict 2024 may be among the most active seasons on record, made worse by the effects of climate change.