Hurricane Beryl maps show path and landfall forecast
Hurricane Beryl is expected to reach Jamaica Wednesday after making landfall two days earlier as a powerful Category 4 storm on the island of Carriacou in Grenada while tearing through the Caribbean, strengthening at times to a Category 5 storm — the strongest rating.
What is the projected path of Hurricane Beryl?
The U.S. National Hurricane Center said early Wednesday that the center of Beryl "is forecast to pass near or over Jamaica later today ... near or over the Cayman Islands tonight or early Thursday and move over the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico early Friday.
"Some weakening is forecast during the next day or two. However, Beryl is forecast to be at or near major hurricane intensity while it passes near Jamaica later today and the Cayman Islands tonight or early Thursday."
A hurricane is considered major when it's a Category 3 or higher, with winds of at least 111 mph. As of early Wednesday, Beryl was a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 145 mph, the hurricane center said.
Beryl was about about 185 miles east-southeast of Kingston, Jamaica and was moving west-northwest at 20 mph, according to the center.
Beryl became the first hurricane of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season on Saturday and rapidly strengthened. It first reached Category 4 on Sunday, wavering back to Category 3 before returning to Category 4 on Monday and then becoming a Category 5 later Monday night. It is the first major hurricane east of the Lesser Antilles on record for June, according to Philip Klotzbach, Colorado State University hurricane researcher.
Brian McNoldy, a tropical meteorology researcher for the University of Miami, told The Associated Press warm waters are fueling Beryl, with ocean heat content in the deep Atlantic the highest on record for this time of year.
Beryl has also set records as the first June hurricane ever to hit Category 4, the farthest east a storm has ever hit Category 4, and the first storm before September to go from tropical depression to major hurricane in under 48 hours, CBS News weather producer David Parkinson reported.
Beryl was also the earliest Category 5 hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic basin and was only the second Category 5 storm recorded in July since 2005, according to the hurricane center.
A hurricane warning was posted for Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Little Cayman, and Cayman Brac. A hurricane watch was in effect for Haiti's southern coast and the Yucatan's east coast. Belize issued a tropical storm watch stretching south from its border with Mexico to Belize City. A tropical storm watch was also in place for the east coast of Belize, from Chetumal south to Belize City.
Where will Hurricane Beryl bring rain and flooding?
The hurricane center said Jamaica, the Dominican Republic and Haiti were likely to see heavy rains and life-threatening flash flooding.
"Hurricane Beryl is expected to produce rainfall totals of 4 to 8 inches, with localized maxima of 12 inches, across Jamaica and the southwestern Haitian Peninsula through late Wednesday," the center said, adding that, "This heavy rainfall is expected to cause life-threatening flash flooding and mudslides."
What's more, the center noted, "Beryl is expected to produce rainfall totals of 2 to 4 inches with localized maxima of 6 inches over the Cayman Islands tonight into Thursday. Over the Yucatan Peninsula into northern Belize, Beryl is expected to produce rainfall totals of 2 to 6 inches with localized amounts of 8 inches, along with at least localized flash flooding, late Thursday through Friday."
— David Parkinson and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
