Hurricane Beryl struck the island nation of Jamaica Wednesday, bringing with it fierce winds and heavy rains – and Texas could be next.
The Category 4 storm’s eyewall was sent brushing by the island country’s south coast in the afternoon, creating hurricane conditions for more than 2.8million residents.
The storm has already made history as the strongest hurricane ever recorded in July, before it was downgraded from a Category 5 Tuesday. The historic hurricane, however, has only weakened slightly, packing a 140 mph punch and already being blamed for seven deaths in other countries.
Jamaican officials, as a result, pleaded with residents to take the storm seriously -urging evacuations as storm surges make flooding possible. As of writing, no deaths have been reported there, the storm’s path remains somewhat uncertain.
The Americas, however, appears to be the storm’s next stop, weather officials said – with either Mexico or Texas set to be hit next within the next 48 hours, by an even stronger version of the storm that’s already killed at least seven.
Hurricane Beryl struck the island nation of Jamaica Wednesday. The Category 4 storm’s eyewall was sent brushing by the country’s south coast in the afternoon, creating hurricane conditions for more than 2.8million residents
The storm has already made history as the strongest hurricane ever recorded in July, before it was downgraded from a Category 5 Tuesday. Scattered debris clutters the waterfront after Hurricane Beryl passed the island of Carriacou, Grenada is seen here
‘Hurricane Beryl has so far brought a lot of water,’ Jamaica Prime Minister Andrew Holness wrote in a post to X just after 6pm ET.
‘Please stay as safe as you can and remember to use the emergency contacts if you need them.’
Hours earlier, the National Hurricane Center issued its own update, as nine-foot waves were seen barreling into Jamaica’s southern seaboard.
It advertised a still-ongoing Hurricane Warning, ‘in effect for Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Little Cayman and Cayman Brac, and the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico from Puerto Costa Maya to Cancun.’
A less severe Hurricane Watch, meanwhile, was issued for 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 Cabo Catoche.
A Hurricane Warning refers to when hurricane conditions are expected somewhere within the warning area, while a Hurricane Watch means that hurricane conditions are possible within an area, generally within 48 hours.
For the former, ‘preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion,’ the hurricane center said.
National Hurricane Center Director Michael Brennan added how storm surges of 6 to 9 feet above normal are expected, as the counterclockwise-rotating storm pushes water onto Jamaica’s coast Wednesday night.
The historic hurricane, however, has only weakened slightly, packing a 140 mph punch on residents of Kingston, seen here trying to save pieces of a tin face split apart by the weather
The storm has since moved past the country, leaving only destruction its wake. Such was the case in Barbados Tuesday, as several boats were left nearly sunk by surging currents created by the then Category-5 hurricane
The storm is currently moving west, where it may strike the southern part of Mexico before potentially engaging in a rare double strike of the country by passing over its eponymous gulf and toward more northern cities like Monterrey.
That said, Beryl’s path remains unpredictable, and state authorities in Texas are warning people – particularly in coastal areas – about the prospect of a July 4 hurricane or tropical storm.
‘While Texans take time to enjoy the holiday weekend with family and friends, it’s important to stay weather aware, pay close attention to the rapidly-changing forecasts,’ Texas Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd said in a statement.
‘[D]on’t be caught without an emergency plan.’
‘If I lived in Texas, and I have lived in Texas, this would be a storm that I would be watching closely,’ FOX Weather Meteorologist Britta Merwin added.
‘The possible impacts would be Sunday into Monday.’
As of writing, the southern state seems more set be spared, with Mexico the more likely candidate.
But Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday still told the state’s Division of Emergency Management to issue a hurricane advisory notice to the Texas Emergency Management Council.
‘Texas stands ready to deploy all available resources and support to our coastal communities,’ the Republican said, urging Texans to be ready for the still-real prospect the tropical weather will reach the US’s Gulf Coast.
In Jamaica, though, extensive damage already appears unavoidable, with the storm then projected to cross the Yucatan Peninsula sometime Friday.
By then, it will against strengthen into a Category 5, officials said – after it had already achieved that status Monday.
A piece of tin roofing was seen wrapped into a tree after Hurricane Beryl passes through the country’s capital of Kingston
A man is seen looking at breaking waves along the coast as Hurricane Beryl approached Kingston
A person makes their way through the wind and rain from Hurricane Beryl Wednesday, as towering waves and high-speed winds hit Jamaica
Flooding was seen across the southern part of the country Wednesday, with Kingston one of the hardest hit
The storm is currently moving west, where it may strike the southern part of Mexico before potentially engaging in a rare double strike of the country by passing over its eponymous gulf and toward more northern cities like Monterrey. It has already hit much of the Caribbean
There, it will move into the Gulf of Mexico, before slamming into either Mexico or southern Texas, weather officials said.
As of 5pm Wednesday, the hurricane’s center had already passed through the capital Kingston, still some 265 miles from Grand Cayman, as the storm moved past the country.
It is currently moving west-northwest at speeds of around 20mph, while the winds whipping around insight of it are around seven times faster.
‘The Cayman Islands are sort of next in line for seeing significant impacts,’ Brennan on Wednesday added, after some slight weakening occurred as the storm approached Jamaica earlier in the day.
Authorities at the time made it clear how the storm was a major weather event that should be taken seriously, with Prime Minister Holness telling those in low-lying areas and areas historically prone to flooding and landslide to evacuate.
He further urged those living on the banks of a river to either ‘evacuate to a shelter or to safer ground,’ hours before the storm made landfall.
People proceeded to board up windows, and fishermen pulled their boats out of the surrounding water.
Workers, meanwhile, worked to dismantle roadside advertising boards to protect them from the lashing winds, just before wind-whipped rains plowed into the island for several hours.
That said, Beryl’s path remains unpredictable, and state authorities in Texas are warning people – particularly in coastal areas – about the prospect of a July 4 hurricane or tropical storm. People braving the storm Wednesday afternoon in Kingston are seen here
A tree lays in the road in hard-hit Kingston as Hurricane Beryl passes through the area towards the Gulf of Mexico
As the storm gains strength over the gulf, Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday told the Texas Division of Emergency Management to issue a hurricane advisory notice as the storm is set to again become a Category-5
‘If I lived in Texas, and I have lived in Texas, this would be a storm that I would be watching closely,’ FOX Weather Meteorologist Britta Merwin added. ‘The possible impacts would be Sunday into Monday.’ Flooding in Jamaica Wednesday is seen here
Power was knocked out in much of the capital, but by the evening, the storm had glanced off the island and continued making its way toward the Gulf of Mexico.
In an ensuing social media post, Prime Minister Holness revealed that nearly 500 Jamaicans had been placed in shelters.
‘We are placing emphasis on ensuring they are comfortable and well looked after,’ he said.
Earlier in the day, as churning whitecaps brought by Beryl’s eye scraped by the island’s southern coast, Jon Porter, chief meteorologist at AccuWeather, issued a statement citing the dangerous nature of the storm
‘We are very concerned about a wide variety of life threatening impacts in Jamaica,” he said, before branding Beryl ‘the strongest and most dangerous hurricane threat that Jamaica has faced, probably, in decades.’
As a result Jamaica was under a state of emergency, and afterward was declared a disaster zone hours before the impact.
Holness says the disaster zone declaration will remain for the next seven days, as he implemented an island-wide curfew.
The hours for the restrictions were between 6 am and 6 pm, and were in effect only Wednesday.
The curfew has since passed, with officials now surveying the damage.
Officials said that nearly 500 Jamaicans had been placed in shelters, after an evacuation was ordered for those near rivers and residing low-lying areas. Several were left without power
In total, at least seven people are known to have died as a result of the storm’s path across the Caribbean
On Monday, Beryl strengthened to a Category 5 hurricane for the first time, and by early Tuesday it was creating record-breaking 165 mph maximum sustained winds.
The small island nation of St. Vincent and the Grenadines were among those hit, with at least one person dead and more casualties likely as officials continue to probe flooded areas and wreckage.
In Grenada, at least three people have died, after Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell said a unspecified number of homes had been destroyed by the “Armageddon-like” storm.
Venezuela was also hit by heavy flooding that caused the deaths of at least, as four more remain missing as a result of the storm, the country’s president, Nicolás Maduro, said.
In total, at least seven people are known to have died as a result of the storm’s path.