1 of 3 | Hurricane Beryl barreled toward the Cayman Islands and the Yucatan Peninsula on Thursday after slamming into Jamaica as a Category 4 hurricane. Image courtesy National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
July 2 (UPI) — Hurricane Beryl barreled toward the Cayman Islands and the Yucatan Peninsula on Thursday after slamming into Jamaica as a Category 4 hurricane.
Beryl was downgraded to a Category 2 hurricane late Thursday morning but that did not make it any less dangerous with winds topping 110 mph accompanied by a powerful storm surge that could raise floodwater levels to 5 feet.
In the National Hurricane Center’s 5 p.m. EDT update, Beryl was about 200 miles west of Grand Cayman and about 215 miles east-southeast of Tulum, Mexico. Beryl is about 200 miles south of Cuba.
The storm continued to move west-northwest at about 20 mph. It was expected to reach the Yucatan Peninsula by Friday morning and cover the southwestern Gulf of Mexico before taking a more northerly turn.
Then Beryl is expected to emerge over the southwestern Gulf of Mexico on Friday night and move northwestward across the southwestern Gulf of Mexico through Saturday night.
The Meteorological Service of the Cayman Islands discontinued all warnings for the Cayman Islands.
A hurricane warning is in effect for the Yucatan Peninsula from Puerto Costa Maya to Cancun, including Cozumel.
A hurricane watch is from the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico south of Puerto Costa Maya to Chetumal, and the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico north of Cancun to Campeche.
A tropical storm watch is in effect for the coast of Belize from south of Chetumal to Belize City.
Powerful hurricane-force winds extend 30 miles from the eye of the storm with tropical storm-force winds extending up to 160 miles.
“Center of Beryl heading for the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. Strong winds, dangerous storm surge and damaging waves expected on the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico by early Friday,” NHC said.
Additional weakening should occur while the center is over land, NHC said. “Over the Gulf of Mexico, the guidance does not forecast a lot of strengthening, but conditions appear generally favorable and the intensity forecast continues to show Beryl at hurricane strength before landfall on the western Gulf coast,” NHC forecaster Jack Beven said.
Hurricane Beryl was the earliest Category 5 hurricane on record in the Atlantic. It has been blamed for six deaths and caused severe damage after slamming the Caribbean. Forecasters said water could rise to 12 feet on the islands.
Numerous Americans rode out Hurricane Beryl in Jamaica on Wednesday, including Emmy Award-winning actress Sheryl Lee Ralph. The actress, who plays Barbara Howard on Abbott Elementary, shared a brief video from Kingston on Wednesday, praying for everyone’s safety.
Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness said the country is now assessing what the storm left behind, which appears to have caused damaged coastal infrastructure. He said the examination is still early because the potential of flooding and landslides remained high.
Holness said road damage and debris caused by the high winds and winds will take investigators some time to give a preliminary estimate of damage.
At least one death has been blamed on the storm in Jamaica when a woman died after a tree fell on her home.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s satellites captured the first four days of Beryl, as the storm grew from a “tropical cyclone in the western Atlantic Ocean to a Category 5 hurricane in the Caribbean Sea.”
Since Monday, the hurricane has torn through the island of Cariacou in Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, as well as Venezuela. At least six people have died, as Cariacou was “flattened” in half an hour, according to Grenada Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell.
Mitchell reported three people were killed in Cariacou on Monday, with another death reported in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Two people were killed in northern Venezuela, according to officials.
At least five other people are missing in Venezuela, according to Remigio Ceballos Ichaso, the Venezuelan minister of Interior Relations.
In addition to the deaths, Beryl’s heavy rains and winds have caused landslides, leveled buildings and taken out power systems, as scientists have warned of a more active and extreme hurricane season this year.
Cruise lines in the Caribbean were rerouting their ships Tuesday night.
“The safety of our guests and crew is paramount,” Carnival Cruise Line said in a statement, “and we are continuing to monitor forecasts and factor in guidance from the National Hurricane Center, U.S. Coast Guard and local port authorities to provide timely updates to our guests as more information becomes available.”
Norwegian Cruise Line also changed stops.
President Joe Biden announced Tuesday that the United States is ready to provide assistance.
“People, impacted islands and communities are in our prayers, and we stand by to provide assistance to them,” Biden said during an event on extreme weather.
“Ignoring climate change is deadly and dangerous and irresponsible,” Biden added. “These climate-fueled extreme weather events don’t just affect people’s lives. They also cost money.”
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