After slamming through the Windward Islands with 150 mph winds, Hurricane Beryl grew even stronger becoming a Category 5 storm as it made its way into the Caribbean on Tuesday, according to the National Hurricane Center.
The system reached Category 5 status late Monday with 160 mph winds as it headed west across the Caribbean Sea, making it the earliest Category 5 hurricane in recorded history. It intensified further to 165 mph early Tuesday before diminishing in strength, dropping back down to a strong Category 4 major hurricane by Tuesday afternoon.
As of 8 p.m. the hurricane had sustained winds of 150 mph located about 360 miles east-southeast of Kingston, Jamaica headed west-northwest at 22 mph. Hurricane-force winds extend out 40 miles and tropical-storm-force winds extend out 185 miles.
A hurricane warning is in place for Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Little Cayman and Cayman Brac, while a hurricane watch is in place for the southern coast of Haiti and a tropical storm warning in place for the south coasts of both Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
“On the forecast track, the center of Beryl will move quickly across the central Caribbean Sea today and is forecast to pass near Jamaica on Wednesday and the Cayman Islands on Thursday. The center is forecast to approach the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico on Thursday night,” said NHC forecasters.
For #GeoColor imagery from @NOAA's #Beryl, when the storm grew from a tropical cyclone in the western Atlantic Ocean to a category 5 hurricane in the Caribbean Sea.
More on pic.twitter.com/sWSLLUUKNe
— NOAA Satellites (@NOAASatellites) July 2, 2024
The intensity forecast shows Beryl won’t be as strong as it approaches Jamaica.
“Weakening should begin later today, but Beryl is still expected to be near major hurricane intensity as its moves into the central Caribbean and passes near Jamaica on Wednesday and the Cayman Islands on Thursday,” forecasters said. “Additional weakening is expected thereafter, though Beryl is forecast to remain a hurricane in the northwestern Caribbean.”
It’s then forecast to move over the Yucatan peninsula and into the Gulf of Mexico.
“There is still increased uncertainty in the track forecast beyond 72 hours, with the model guidance showing a large spread as Beryl emerges over the
Gulf of Mexico,” forecasters said.
Even though Beryl may lose strength, the NHC warned storm surge of 3 to 5 feet and rainfall of 4 to 8 inches with some areas getting as much as 12 inches that could cause flash flooding. Outer rainbands of the storm should drop 2 to 6 inches over Hispaniola beginning today.
The storm passed through the Leeward Islands on Monday making landfall on Carriacou Island, which is part of Grenada while also spreading wind and water damage to the main island, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and St. Lucia to the north as well as Barbados.
Grenada’s Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell said one person had died and he could not yet say if there were other fatalities because authorities had not been able to assess the situation on the islands of Carriacou and Petite Martinique, where there were initial reports of major damage but communications were largely down.
“We do hope there aren’t any other fatalities or any injuries,” he said. “But bear in mind the challenge we have in Carriacou and Petite Martinique.” Mitchel added that the government will send people first thing Tuesday morning to evaluate the situation on the islands.
Streets from St. Lucia island south to Grenada were strewn with shoes, trees, downed power lines and other debris. Banana trees were snapped in half and cows lay dead in green pastures with homes made of tin and plywood tilting precariously nearby.
“Right now, I’m real heartbroken,” said Vichelle Clark King as she surveyed her damaged shop in the Barbadian capital of Bridgetown that was filled with sand and water.
The last strong hurricane to hit the southeast Caribbean was Hurricane Ivan 20 years ago, which killed dozens of people in Grenada.
On Monday afternoon, officials received “reports of devastation” from Carriacou and surrounding islands, said Terence Walters, Grenada’s national disaster coordinator. Mitchel said he would travel to Carriacou as soon as it’s safe, noting there’s been an “extensive” storm surge.
Grenada officials had to evacuate patients to a lower floor after hospital roof was damaged, he said.
“There is the likelihood of even greater damage,” he told reporters. “We have no choice but to continue to pray.”
In Barbados, Wilfred Abrahams, minister of home affairs and information, said drones — which are faster than crews fanning across the island — would assess damage once Beryl passed.
The NHC is also keeping track of a system in the central tropical Atlantic, but it’s chances for development have fallen significantly since projections earlier in the week.
The tropical wave located about several hundred miles east-southeast of the Windward Islands is less active than days previous with much more disorganized shower and thunderstorms.
“Environmental conditions are only marginally conducive for any development of this system while it moves generally westward at 15 to 20 mph across the western tropical Atlantic and eastern Caribbean Sea,” forecasters said. “Regardless of development, gusty winds and locally heavy rainfall are possible as the system crosses the Lesser Antilles on Wednesday.”
The NHC gives it a 10% chance to develop in the next two days and 20% in the next seven.
The next name for the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1-Nov. 30, is Debby.
The first named story of the season, Tropical Storm Alberto, formed on June 19 after a slow start to the season. The height of hurricane season, though, runs from mid-August into October.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecast an above average year in the Atlantic with 17 to 25 named storms, of which eight to 13 are expected to become hurricanes, and four to seven of those be major hurricanes.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
