Category 5 Beryl brings life-threatening winds and storm surge to Jamaica

CHARLESTON, SC (WCSC/AP) – Hurricane Beryl, which strengthened to a Category 5 storm, has set a threatening new record: It is the first storm of this strength ever recorded in the Atlantic.

“Beryl” is also the earliest major hurricane in 58 years and the easternmost to form in the tropical Atlantic in June.

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The storm is expected to bring life-threatening winds and a storm surge to Jamaica on Wednesday. Since 8 a.m. Tuesday morning, hurricane hunters have reported little change in the strength of the storm in the last few hours.

Beryl ripped doors, windows and roofs off homes in the southeastern Caribbean on Monday after making landfall on the island of Carriacou in Grenada as the Atlantic’s first Category 4 storm, fueled by record-breaking warm waters. It was upgraded to Category 5 on Monday evening.

READ MORE: Hurricane Beryl sweeps through open waters after devastating the southeastern Caribbean

As of 8 a.m. Tuesday, the eye of Hurricane Beryl was located near 15 degrees north latitude and 67.9 degrees west longitude, 300 miles southeast of Isla Beata in the Dominican Republic.

Beryl is moving toward the west-northwest at about 22 miles per hour and is forecast to continue moving rapidly west-northwest over the next few days, turning west by Thursday.

The center of Beryl is forecast to move quickly across the southeastern and central Caribbean Sea on Tuesday and is expected to pass near Jamaica on Wednesday and the Cayman Islands on Thursday.

Reports from NOAA and Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter aircraft show maximum sustained winds remaining at around 165 mph with stronger gusts. Beryl is a Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale. Weakening should begin later Tuesday, but Beryl is still forecast to reach major hurricane intensity as it moves into the central Caribbean, passing Jamaica on Wednesday and the Cayman Islands on Thursday.

Further weakening is expected after this, although Beryl is forecast to remain a hurricane in the northwestern Caribbean. Hurricane-force winds will extend up to 40 miles outward from the center and tropical storm-force winds will extend up to 125 miles outward.

NOAA Buoy 42059 north of the eye recently reported sustained winds of 72 mph and a gust of 94 mph. The minimum central pressure estimated from Hurricane Hunter aircraft data is 934 mb or 27.58 inches.

A hurricane warning was in effect for Jamaica, a hurricane caution was in effect for the Cayman Islands, and a tropical storm warning was in effect for the south coast of the Dominican Republic from Punta Palenque westward to the border with Haiti, as well as for the south coast of Haiti from the border with the Dominican Republic to Anse d’Hainault.

Hurricane-force winds will reach the coast of Jamaica within the warning area on Wednesday. Winds are expected to reach tropical storm strength for the first time early Wednesday, making outdoor preparations difficult or dangerous. Tropical storm-force winds are expected in the warning area along the southern coast of Hispaniola later Tuesday. Hurricane-force winds could begin in the Cayman Islands on Thursday.

In offshore wind areas along the coast of Jamaica, a storm surge could raise water levels up to 3 to 5 feet above normal tide levels. In offshore wind areas along the southern coast of Hispaniola, a storm surge could raise water levels up to 1 to 3 feet above bottom level.

Beryl is expected to bring rainfall amounts of 4 to 8 inches (10 to 20 centimeters) to parts of Jamaica on Wednesday, with local highs of 12 inches (30 centimeters). This rain may cause flash flooding in vulnerable areas. Rainfall from the outer bands of Beryl may affect parts of Hispaniola through Wednesday, with 2 to 6 inches of rain possible.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts that the 2024 hurricane season will be well above average, with 17 to 25 named storms. The forecast calls for up to 13 hurricanes and four major hurricanes.

Tropical Storm Chris dissipates over Mexico; meteorologists observe low pressure area

The National Hurricane Center said Tropical Storm Chris weakened to a tropical depression over rugged terrain in eastern Mexico on Monday morning, but the associated remnant trough produced large, heavy rains over parts of eastern Mexico for several hours.

The center issued further warnings about Chris on Monday.

Another system about 1,000 miles east-southeast of the Leeward Islands produced scattered rain showers and thunderstorms. Environmental conditions are currently expected to be only marginally tropical, experts say, giving it only a 30 percent chance of developing into at least a tropical depression in the next seven days. As of Monday evening, the probability was 40 percent.

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