Hurricane Beryl weakened slightly Tuesday into a Category 4 storm − from the monster Category 5 it became overnight − as it pushed farther into the Caribbean Sea, homing in on Jamaica and triggering warnings and advisories across Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and the Cayman Islands.
Beryl made landfall on Carriacou Island in Grenada as a Category 4 on Monday with 150-mph winds, causing at least three deaths and devastating Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The fast-moving storm then regained strength over the Caribbean Sea, and on Monday night it became the earliest Category 5 hurricane on record.
The National Hurricane Center said in its 11 p.m. ET advisory that Beryl had maximum sustained winds of near 150 mph − just 7 mph below the Category 5 threshold and down from 165 mph earlier in the day. But forecasters say Beryl will remain a powerful hurricane this week as it moves on a west-northwest path at almost 22 mph.
Forecasters said the center of Beryl will “move rapidly” across the central Caribbean Sea on Tuesday night before it reaches Jamaica. Beryl is “expected to bring life-threatening winds and storm surge to Jamaica” on Wednesday and to the Cayman Islands that night and into Thursday, the hurricane center said.
The storm surge along the Jamaican coast could be as much as 6 to 9 feet above normal tide levels, according to the hurricane center. As Beryl passes over or near Jamaica, currently about 300 miles east-southeast from the capital Kingston, its winds are forecast to decrease but the danger will remain high.
“Winds are expected to first reach tropical storm strength early on Wednesday,” the NHC said, “making outside preparations difficult or dangerous.”
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