July 2-3, 2024, Hurricane Beryl news

Workers board up windows as Hurricane Beryl approaches, in Kingston, Jamaica, on July 3,

Jamaica’s prime minister is asking everyone on the island to comply with evacuation orders as Hurricane Beryl closes in.

The storm’s center is expected to pass just south of — but very close to — Jamaica early this afternoon and will bring with it hurricane-force winds and dangerous storm surge.

He also told people living in low-lying areas to move to higher ground or a shelter, even if they are not currently under an evacuation notice. This also includes residents in areas that are “historically prone to flooding and landslide or if you live on the banks of a river or a gully,” Holness said.

Here’s a look at the latest location of the storm:

Robert Pfeifer shared video from the Sandals Ochi resort in Ocho Rios on the north coast of Jamaica

Robert Pfeifer and his wife Tami, who are celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary at the Sandals Ochi resort in Ocho Rios on the north coast of Jamaica, are hunkering down as Hurricane Beryl closes in on the Caribbean island.

Pfeifer captured video at about 8 a.m. local time (9 a.m. ET) and said the wind and rain had picked up dramatically since then.

Pfeifer said he and his wife were enjoying some time outside before the storm kicked up and they had to take shelter in their room. They arrived in Jamaica on Saturday and are scheduled to return home on July 6. He said flights were already being canceled when they looked into going home early.

The couple had never been through a hurricane before, but he thought the resort staff were doing a good job preparing for Hurricane Beryl.

“They’ve boarded up a lot of the windows. They actually came in all the rooms last night and gave everybody like a snack pack to keep in their room with chips and extra extra drinks and everything. And, you know, I guess the plan is to kind of just write it out,” he said.

Pfeifer said they went into town on Tuesday and said it looked like local residents were stocking up on supplies because they saw a lot of empty shelves at the grocery store.

Watch Pfeifer’s video of the storm here.

As Hurricane Beryl continues to churn in the Caribbean, threatening to unleash devastating impacts to islands along its path, one professor worries about his home country of Jamaica, where his 13-year-old son lives.

Kevon Rhiney, an associate professor of geography at New Jersey’s Rutgers University, is closely monitoring the strong Category 4 storm in St. Martin in the Leeward Islands, where he is conducting field research to follow up on post-Hurricane Irma rebuilding efforts. 

The last time a storm of this magnitude occurred was Hurricane Gilbert, which pummeled the island country in 1988. Rhiney said his grandfather died during that storm after being struck by an object while trying to secure the roof of their family home.

It’s one of only two hurricanes that made landfall in Jamaica in the last 40 years, including Hurricane Sandy in 2012. 

Friends and family members in Jamaica tell him people are stocking up with emergency food and water, emptying grocery stores and supermarkets to prepare for the worst. 

Small island nations contribute the least to the climate crisis yet suffer disproportionately from its escalating impacts. And given their lack of resources, Rhiney said it’s going to take years to rebuild and recover.

“It’s a life-and-death issue for many Caribbean states,” he said, underscoring that the season isn’t over yet. 

A hurricane warning is now in effect for part of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula from Puerto Costa Maya to Cancun. A hurricane watch is in effect from north of Cancun to Cabo Catoche and from south of Puerto Costa Maya to Chetumal.

Beryl is expected to impact the region late Thursday and Friday.

Storm nears Jamaica: Beryl remains a dangerous Category 4 hurricane with sustained winds of 145 mph. The hurricane is tracking to the west-northwest at 18 mph and is located 75 miles southeast of Kingston, Jamaica. 

Beryl’s center is expected to pass just south of — but very close to — Jamaica early this afternoon. Tropical storm-force winds have spread over the eastern half of the island and hurricane-force winds will likely arrive in the next hour or two. 

Beryl is set to emerge in the Gulf of Mexico this weekend after it roars through the Caribbean and Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula.

But from this point, Beryl’s exact track becomes uncertain, and it could be the difference between the storm making landfall on the US Gulf Coast or northeastern Mexico. 

The National Hurricane Center’s forecast calls for Beryl to restrengthen as it tracks across the southwestern Gulf of Mexico this weekend. It will then push toward Mexico’s coast and make landfall Sunday night in far northeastern Mexico.

But the NHC’s forecast cone, which represents where the center of a cyclone is likely to stay 60 to 70% of the time, encapsulates much of southern Texas early next week. This means a US landfall is not out of the question for Beryl.  

Some current forecast model solutions take Beryl right into Mexico, some shift it into Texas and some point it toward other parts of the US.

It all hinges on an area of high pressure helping to fuel hot conditions in the South. High pressure is like a bumper in a game of atmospheric pinball, pushing storms this way and that. So if the high over the South stays strong, it will push Beryl more due west on a track farther from the US. But if it weakens, Beryl could turn more to the northwest or north and track closer to the US.

Anyone from Mexico’s eastern Gulf Coast to Texas and even Louisiana should keep a close watch on the forecast in the coming days. Even if Beryl makes landfall in northeastern Mexico, wind and rain from the cyclone will likely impact parts of the US’s Gulf Coast.

Several different computer forecast models (colored lines) are overlaid on the National Hurricane Center forecast cone (grey outline) for Beryl. Each colored line represents a different way the center of Beryl may track into early next week.

American newlyweds Casey and Warner Haley traveled to Montego Bay, Jamaica, for their honeymoon. They are now trapped in the country as Hurricane Beryl approaches.

They went to Sangster International Airport (MBJ) around 12 p.m. local time Tuesday looking for a way home, but said they couldn’t get a single flight to anywhere in the US. 

The airport looked “like a scene out of a doomsday movie” Casey Haley wrote in a Facebook post. 

“After the trip to the airport, we then went to a grocery store to get some water and some supplies, and the locals were in a frenzy as well, which is what concerned us,” she said.

Food was running out at the grocery store and lines were “backing up to the back of the store,” Warner Haley said. They eventually left the store without buying anything because they were worried their taxi from the airport would leave them stranded.

They’re scheduled to fly home on Saturday.

“Now we got to hunker down for this,” Warner Haley said. “We have faith we’ll be taken care of. What’s going to happen is what’s going to happen. We’re just going to do our best and take every precaution we can.” 

The couple estimated about 200 people may still be in their hotel after many travelers left Monday. Their resort has yet to inform them of a safety plan, they added. 

In an interview with CNN on Wednesday morning, the couple said the hotel told them the remaining guests will meet in a conference room.

The couple agreed the experience has brought them closer together. “Stress really tests the relationship,” Warner added.

This post has been updated to include comments from the couple’s Wednesday morning interview.

Jamaica’s Minister of Local Government and Community Development, Desmond McKenzie says the country is well prepared for Hurricane Beryl, with over 870 shelters activated and emergency services ready to respond, but has warned “the next 48 hours is going to be a telling one for the country.”

Speaking to CNN’s Max Foster, McKenzie described the incoming hurricane as the first major hurricane the nation has had in 40 years.

“The country is ready,” he said, asserting that he was “quite sure that the great majority of Jamaicans will heed to the call” to follow government instructions and stay safe.

McKenzie said climate change was “contributing significantly to what we are experiencing today,” adding that “as a small island state we are subjected to what the greater world around us is presenting,” he said.

But, he asserted that the country knew the challenges that faced them and was ready to do so.

Storm clouds hover over the mountains as people make last-minute preparations for the arrival of Hurricane Beryl on July 3, n Kingston, Jamaica.

Sustained tropical storm-force winds arrived in eastern Jamaica a short time ago, according to the National Hurricane Center. It’s unclear how strong the winds are currently because they are occurring on a part of the island where there are no weather observations to verify them. Tropical storm-force winds range from 39 to 73 mph by definition.

The winds will spread over Jamaica throughout the morning as Beryl tracks closer to the country. Hurricane-force sustained winds of at least 74 mph will arrive in the early afternoon and are forecast to pound the country until at least midnight.

Florida-based disaster relief organization Global Empowerment Mission (GEM) hosted hurricane planning meetings on Tuesday for relief aid to be sent to the Hurricane Beryl-impacted islands of Barbados, St. Vincent & The Grenadines, St. Lucia, Grenada, Jamaica, and other surrounding islands.

GEM and its partners are preparing supplies to be sent from their Doral, Florida headquarters, as volunteers are asked to help pack containers to support all islands affected by the hurricane, including supplies for Jamaica.

The organization called for donations of essential community items, including tarps, generators, yard waste bags, canned foods, non-perishable foods, sleeping bags, work gloves, solar-powered lights, tents, industrial sponges, as well as professional first-aid kits and hygiene kits.

Mair urged Jamaican residents to continue to follow all advisories from relevant authorities and move from low-lying areas to safer regions of the island.

Hurricane Beryl could just miss a direct landfall in Jamaica, according to the latest forecast track from the National Hurricane Center, but the island will face the same devastating conditions regardless.

The forecast track wobbled slightly south Wednesday after trending north on Tuesday, meaning the hurricane’s center could track just south of Jamaica instead. 

At least half of the hurricane’s center needs to cross over land in order for an official landfall to occur, but Beryl’s strongest winds extend 45 miles from its center. So, even if its center tracks just south of Jamaica, much of the island will endure powerful and perhaps destructive winds. The winds will also push water onshore and could generate up to 9 feet of storm surge when Beryl makes its closest approach this afternoon.

Beryl will also unload torrential rainfall that could trigger mudslides in the country’s higher terrain and more widespread flash flooding. Rainfall totals of 4 to 8 inches are likely over Jamaica with some spots potentially recording close to a foot of rain. 

For context: Only two hurricanes have made landfall in Jamaica in the last 40 years: Sandy in 2012 and Gilbert in 1988. No hurricane as strong as Beryl has even come close to Jamaica’s shores since Dean — a Category 4 hurricane — passed just south of the country in 2007.

Hurricane Beryl tracks just south of Hispaniola and toward Jamaica Wednesday morning.

Beryl is a very dangerous Category 4 hurricane tracking through the Caribbean Sea and closing in on a devastating blow to Jamaica.

While the hurricane lost the clearly defined eye seen on satellite imagery yesterday, it remains quite powerful. Beryl is tracking south of Hispaniola and toward Jamaica Wednesday morning as seen in the satellite image below.

Beryl is producing stormy weather in Haiti, and its rain bands are approaching Jamaica. It’s only around 150 miles from Jamaica and moving around 20 mph, so conditions will start to deteriorate there soon.

The hurricane has quite a wide reach, with some outer rain bands pushing into the southern Bahamas.

A man covers the windows of a building to protect it from the incoming Hurricane Beryl in Kingston, Jamaica, on July 2.

Category 4 Hurricane Beryl will impact Jamaica today with life-threatening winds and a storm surge, before continuing its path toward the Cayman Islands tonight.

Beryl continues to have winds of 145 mph early Wednesday morning, though it is not looking as healthy on satellite. It is forecast to weaken over the next day or two, but will be at or near major hurricane intensity while it passes near Jamaica. The hurricane-force winds are expected there around midday.

Tropical-storm-force winds are occurring up to 185 miles from Beryl’s center and will begin to impact Jamaica this morning.

It will also see additional life-threatening impacts with a storm surge as much as 6 to 9 feet above normal tide levels, flash flooding and mudslides from heavy rainfall totals 4 to 8 inches, with localized amounts of 12 inches.

Hurricane warnings are in effect for:

Beryl is also impacting southern Hispaniola this morning with tropical storm-force winds, up to 3 feet of storm surge and heavy rain potentially producing flash flooding and mudslides.

A hurricane watch and tropical storm warning is in effect for the south coast of Haiti from the border with the Dominican Republic to Anse d’Hainault.

A hurricane watch is in effect for the east coast of the Yucatan Peninsula from Chetumal to Cabo Catoche and a tropical storm watch for the coast of Belize from south of Chetumal to Belize City.

Houses have been torn down, with only the foundations left standing, as Hurricane Beryl swept across the southeastern Caribbean on Tuesday.

The island of Carriacou in Grenada, as well as St. Vincent and the Grenadines, saw the most severe damage from Beryl. Satellite imagery shows the storm wiped away broad swaths of several islands.

Here is what that devastation looks like on the ground:

People walk amidst damaged property following the passing of Hurricane Beryl, in Union Island, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, in this screen grab taken from a handout video released on July 2.

A person stands amidst damaged property following the passing of Hurricane Beryl, in Union Island, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, in this screen grab taken from a handout video released on July 2.

And this is the view of Carriacou from above:

A satellite image shows destroyed buildings after Hurricane Beryl passed northeastern Carriacou, Grenada, on July 2.

A man gets into the back of a taxi filled with water and perishables, as people prep for Hurricane Beryl in Kingston, Jamaica, on July 2.

Hurricane Beryl has left at least seven people dead and countless homes and buildings destroyed as it churns through the Caribbean – and its journey is far from over.  

The storm is likely to slam into Jamaica’s shoreline later Wednesday as a major hurricane, meaning Category 3 or higher, according to the National Hurricane Center. It would be only the third hurricane to make landfall on the island in 40 years. 

Here are the latest updates:  

World Central Kitchen delivers food to Union Island in St. Vincent and the Grenadines on July 2.

The non-profit World Central Kitchen has begun delivering food and water to Union Island in St. Vincent and the Grenadines after it was decimated by Hurricane Beryl.

“We are mobilizing across the Caribbean to access the hardest hit islands to get some support to the community here that has experienced a Category 4 storm,” the WCK’s Melissa Gluck said in a video message shot from the island and posted on the nonprofit’s X account. 

The team reached the location via helicopter and was able to deliver fruit, water and sandwiches, she said.

 “There’s lots of destruction, there’s no electricity, power, water,” Gluck said, showing damaged homes and downed trees in the area. 

Union Island, with around 3,000 residents, is a small island only 3 miles long and approximately 1 mile wide, according to the island’s information center. 

The country’s Prime Minister, Ralph Gonsalves, said Monday that Union Island was devastated by Beryl with reports indicating 90% of homes on the island have been “severely damaged or destroyed.”

World Central Kitchen founder José Andrés said in a separate post that the organization is delivering aid to multiple islands that were hit by Beryl.

Jamaican fishermen help each other prepare for the approaching Hurricane Beryl by bringing boats inland, in Kingston, Jamaica, on July 2.

Forecasters say Hurricane Beryl is likely to “pass near or over” Jamaica by Wednesday afternoon, bringing harsh winds and towering storm surge, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Beryl, still a Category 4 storm, was packing 145 mph winds early Monday, the agency said in an advisory. Its center lies about 250 miles southeast of Kingston, Jamaica, and is moving at 22 mph.

Tropical storm conditions are expected in Jamaica on Wednesday morning, increasing to hurricane conditions by midday.

Only two hurricanes have made landfall in Jamaica in the last 40 years: Hurricane Sandy in 2012 and Hurricane Gilbert in 1988. Gilbert was the strongest hurricane to hit the island with winds of 130 mph, so Beryl could rival this record. 

Storm surge of 6 to 9 feet above normal tides could inundate the coast and rainfall of 4 to 8 inches is expected, with isolated totals up to 12 inches. 

Hurricane Beryl hits the south end of Grenada on July 1.

Elaine Pesto was visiting Grenada for her job as a travel agent when Hurricane Beryl hit the area. 

Pesto, 56, arrived in Grenada on Saturday afternoon with a group of seven other travel agents,

“We checked in and that’s when they notified us that we probably need to leave,” Pesto told CNN.

Though the group tried to leave almost immediately Saturday night, flights back to the US were extremely expensive, so they decided to ride out the storm, she said.

By Sunday night, Pesto’s anxieties began to grow. The uncertainty of waiting out the storm was the most “painful” part of the experience, she said.

“When you’re in that situation, when you’re getting those mandates – no matter if you’re a seasoned traveler or not – you’re going to get anxious,” she said. “You just feel like it’s closing in on you. It was a little nerve-wracking.”

Sleep was hard to come by Sunday night as Pesto woke constantly to check on storm updates. By Monday morning, she began to feel the rains and lashing winds from the arriving storm.

“I could feel my sliding glass door was vibrating. During the storm, I tried to work. I was trying to work to keep my mind off of it because otherwise you would sit there and be like ‘Oh my gosh. I’m in the middle of a hurricane,’ and just worry yourself to death.”

Luckily, the storm surge was not as severe on the southern side of the island where she was staying, she said.

By Tuesday, she was finally able to return home to the US.

Workers carry plywood as they board up a restaurant, as Hurricane Beryl approaches, in Kingston, Jamaica, on July 2.

With Hurricane Beryl approaching Jamaica, a nationwide curfew will be imposed Wednesday from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., Prime Minister Andrew Holness announced Tuesday evening.

“This is to ensure the safety of everyone during the passage of the storm and prevent any movement with the intent to carry out criminal activity,” said Holness in a video message posted on his Instagram account.

The announcement came after Holness declared the whole of Jamaica would be a “disaster area” for the next week after reviewing the storm’s “likely strength and impact.”

Beryl is forecast to be at least a Category 3 hurricane when it reaches Jamaica Wednesday afternoon, according to the National Hurricane Center. The storm could make landfall or pass very close to the southern coast.

Flooded homes after a river swelled due to heavy rains following the passage of Hurricane Beryl on the road from Cumana to Cumanacoa, Sucre State, Venezuela, on July 2.

The death toll from Hurricane Beryl has risen to at least seven after Venezuelan officials announced a third person died in the country after the storm passed near its shores.

Speaking from the presidential command center on Tuesday, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro said the dead include two men and one woman from the northeastern town of Cumanacoa, in the state of Sucre.

“May they rest in peace, our condolences, and sentiments to their families. I have ordered full support to the families,” Maduro said.

Four people are still missing in Venezuela and 8,000 homes have been impacted, with 400 of those being a “total loss,” the president said.

The storm’s outer bands battered Venezuela Monday night into Tuesday morning as it pushed through the Caribbean’s Windward Islands.

Elsewhere, at least one person died in St. Vincent and the Grenadines and at least three others died in Grenada, officials in the Caribbean nations said.

In a televised speech Tuesday, Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness highlighted Hurricane Beryl — the earliest Category 5 hurricane on record in the Atlantic — as an example of how developing nations suffer from the worst effects of climate change, which is driving more frequent and extreme natural disasters.

Though developed nations such as the US and China bear a greater historical responsibility for the human-induced climate crisis, developing nations and small-island states are suffering the worst impacts.

A 2022 study showed 55 of the world’s most vulnerable economies have already experienced losses and damages of more than $500 billion in the last two decades from the climate crisis.

“Your government understands that we live in a time of overlapping crises and unpredictable external shocks, not of our making,” Holness said. “This means that as a government and as a people, we must be resilient. We must build the capacity to absorb shocks and recover quickly.”

Boats are tied up to a fence at the Kingston Waterfront ahead of Hurricane Beryl in Kingston, Jamaica, on July 2.

Beryl is the fiercest hurricane Jamaica has faced in a “very long time,” Delroy Williams, a government senator, told CNN on Tuesday.

Heavy rains often lead to landslides in Jamaica, particularly in its rural areas, and the country’s prime minister announced a nearly $2 million emergency assistance fund earlier today, Williams said. 

Beryl is expected to make landfall in Jamaica on Wednesday.

Williams said the hurricane should also compel additional action on climate change. 

“It’s only July. It’s pretty early for us to experience a hurricane,” he said. “It’s alarming.”

The international community has made some progress, he said, but low-lying coastal cities like his will — and already are — bearing the brunt of the effects of a warming planet. 

Beryl should signal to the international community that they must “step up efforts” to widen coastal cities’ access to climate change-related funding and “address the issue of infrastructure” in cities like his, Williams said.

Though Hurricane Beryl is forecast to weaken to a Category 1 storm before impacting southeastern Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula beginning Thursday, Mexican authorities are warning of high swells and possible waterspouts. 

In the early hours of Friday, “it is forecast that the hurricane will impact the coasts of the state as a Category 1 with winds of between 120 and 150 km/h,” Méndez said.

Laura Velázquez, director of Federal Civil Protection, urged people to “take extreme precautions when navigating due to high waves.”

Plans are also in place to strengthen the operational capacity of the region’s hospitals, Velázquez said.

 Jamaican prime minister Andrew Holness speaks during in a televised address on Tuesday, July 2.

Jamaica must take Hurricane Beryl “seriously,” Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness warned in a televised speech on Tuesday. 

Holness said that the Jamaican government has taken several serious precautionary measures to minimize the storm’s anticipated impact Wednesday, including activating disaster response teams across the country.

Security forces have also developed a strategic plan “to counter any potential threat of looting or any other opportunistic crimes during this period,” the prime minister said.

Beryl is forecast to be at least a Category 3 hurricane when it makes landfall on the southern coast of Jamaica Wednesday afternoon, according to the National Hurricane Center. Tropical cyclones that reach at least Category 3 strength are considered major hurricanes.

Hurricane Beryl slightly weakened Tuesday night to top winds of 150 mph, though it is still a powerful Category 4 hurricane, the National Hurricane Center said in an advisory.

“Beryl is expected to continue to gradually weaken for the next day or two but is still forecast to be at or near a major hurricane when it passes near Jamaica on Wednesday and near the Cayman Islands on Wednesday night,” the agency warned. 

Hurricane watches have been issued for the east coast of the Yucatan Peninsula from Chetumal to Cabo Catoche. A tropical storm watch has also been issued by the government of Belize from south of Chetuman to Belize City.  

A Hurricane watch means hurricane conditions are possible within the watch area, according to the NHC, and a tropical storm watch means tropical storm conditions are possible within the watch area.

Here’s where Beryl’s forecasted impact in the coming days:

Jamaica

Cayman Islands

Yucatan Peninsula

Hispaniola

Belize

Venezuela’s Vice President Delcy Rodríguez was injured Tuesday after being hit by a falling tree while visiting the northeastern town of Cumanacoa, in the state of Sucre, which was affected by Hurricane Beryl. 

Venezuela was impacted by the outer bands and fringe of Beryl which caused flooding, specifically of the Manzanares River in the northeast of the country, according to Venezuelan Minister of Interior Relations, Remigio Ceballos Ichaso.

The Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) is urging Texans to keep an eye on the Gulf as Hurricane Beryl moves west across the Caribbean, according to a press release.

Those in Texas for the Fourth of July holiday are advised to “heed warnings of local officials and have a plan in place should tropical weather reach the Texas coast,” the release says.

As of Tuesday, Texas is in the “cone of uncertainty” as Hurricane Beryl is forecast to continue moving west-northwest through the next week, TDEM said.

New satellite imagery obtained by CNN from Maxar Technologies shows storm damage to residences on southeast Caribbean islands administered by Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. 

Beryl made landfall on the largest island pictured, Carriacou, on Monday morning as a Category 4 hurricane. Local communities were devastated by sustained 150 mph winds.

Satellite images show storm damage on four islands: Carriacou, Union Island, Petit Saint Vincent and Petite Martinique.

Take a look:

Argyle on the island of Carriacou, Grenada on July 2.

Petite Martinique, Grenada on July 2.

Northeastern Carriacou, Grenada on July 2.

Clifton Harbor on Union Island, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines on July 2.

The Jamaican government has urged people across the country to stock up on food, water, and batteries as Hurricane Beryl approaches.

Witnesses told CNN that several major food markets between Kingston, the capital, and St. Catherine are out of some basic food items, including bread. They also witnessed long lines of vehicles outside several gas stations.

“It’s the calm before the storm,” journalist Fitzroy Prendergast told CNN on Tuesday while he has been trying to secure basic food items for his family. “Gas stations are running out of gas, long lines at gas stations. Everyone was trying to get fuel.”

Andrew Wheatley, member of Parliament, has denied any food or fuel shortages, and blamed people who decided to make a last-minute decision to rush to stock up on food, water, and fuel.

Boats are pictured tied up to a fence at the Kingston Waterfront ahead of Hurricane Beryl in Kingston, Jamaica, on July 2.

At least six people have been killed so far as Hurricane Beryl pummels the Caribbean, heading toward Jamacia.

It is expected to make landfall in the southern part of the island on Wednesday, likely as at least a Category 3 storm, according to the National Hurricane Center. It has been more than three decades since a major hurricane struck Jamaica.

Here are the latest updates:

Cruise lines are altering some of their ships’ courses in the Caribbean as Hurricane Beryl barrels through the region. 

Carnival Cruise Line said Tuesday it was changing the original trajectories of two of its active cruises – Carnival Horizon and Carnival Liberty. 

Carnival Horizon, originally scheduled to make port at Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, on July 3, canceled the visit. Its scheduled trip to Cozumel, Mexico, on July 4 was also replaced with a visit to Nassau, Bahamas, on July 5.

Carnival Liberty has sped up its scheduled July 5 to Cozumel to today, as the vessel attempts to avoid the hurricane’s forecasted path into the area. 

The Norwegian Cruise Line altered routes for two cruises, Norwegian Jade and Norwegian Breakaway, with canceled visits to Jamaica, Cayman Islands, Belize and Cozumel and Costa Maya in Mexico. 

The trail of damage Hurricane Beryl has left so far in Caribbean countries is just the beginning of what’s been forecast to be an extremely intense hurricane season in the Atlantic, Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for the United Nations secretary-general, said on Tuesday.

The UN will be deploying its emergency teams to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in the coming days, the spokesman said, adding that the UN received reports that there was severe damage there to homes, communications, infrastructure and power.

“Logistics are going to be a challenge, given the islands’ dispersal, damaged infrastructure and limited accessibility,” Dujarric said.

At least six people have so far died from Hurricane Beryl.

Hurricane Beryl is still an incredibly strong Category 4 hurricane with sustained winds of 155 miles per hour, according to the latest update from the National Hurricane Center.

The winds have not decreased since the 2 p..m ET update, and Beryl remains 2 mph below the threshold for a Category 5 hurricane. A hurricane hunter aircraft is scheduled to take updated measurements from the eye around 8 p.m. ET for a better indication of the current strength.  

The storm is forecast to weaken gradually as it moves through the Caribbean Sea tonight into Wednesday, but it is still expected to reach Jamaica at or near major hurricane (at least a Category 3) intensity.

Extremely heavy rainfall and life-threatening flash flooding also pose a significant threat to Jamaica. Rainfall totals could reach 4 to 8 inches with isolated areas receiving up to 12 inches of rain through late Wednesday.

Beryl is expected to continue to weaken Wednesday night through Thursday, but could still reach the Yucatan Peninsula as a Category 1 hurricane early Friday morning.

The storm is then forecast to enter the Gulf of Mexico as a tropical storm.

“There remains uncertainty in the track and intensity forecast of Beryl over the western Gulf of Mexico this weekend. Interests in the southwestern and western Gulf of Mexico should monitor the progress of Beryl,” the National Hurricane Center noted.

The US Embassy in the Dominican Republic on Tuesday warned of potentially “life-threatening” surf and rip current conditions and urged American citizens to follow instructions from local authorities as Hurricane Beryl looms.

Tropical storm warnings are in effect for the south and west ends of the island, and the local emergency operations center has issued new red alerts for two Pedernales and Barahona province, the statement said.

“Life-threatening” swells are also expected to reach the island’s southern coast later today, the embassy said.

Two main airports in Jamaica will close Tuesday night due to the impeding threats posed by Hurricane Beryl as it hurls toward the Caribbean country.

Jamaica’s largest airport, Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay, will close temporarily at 11:59 p.m. local time and will remain closed throughout Wednesday to ensure safety, according to a press release from the airport.

A comprehensive assessment will take place following the hurricane to determine when it’s safe to resume operations, the release said.

Norman Manley International Airport in the country’s capital of Kingston will close at 10 p.m. local time on Tuesday night.

An aerial view of the city of Port-au-Prince, Haiti,seen on May 24.

Haiti could be hit with heavy rains, winds and landsides from Hurricane Beryl, Stéphane Dujarric, a spokesperson for the UN Secretary General, told reporters Tuesday.

This year’s hurricane season “could aggravate the living condition of millions of Haitians who are already caught in a complex humanitarian crisis, as you know, marked by violence, displacement, food insecurity and poor access to basic social services,” Dujarric said, adding that humanitarian agencies are in “close contact” with Haitian authorities.

The southern half of the island — specifically Sud, Sud-Est and Grand-Anse departments — could be the hardest hit within the next 24 hours, Dujarric said, noting that UN agencies are prepared to provide “immediate assistance” if necessary, including food and cash-based aid.

At least six people are dead after Hurricane Beryl churned near Venezuela and across the Caribbean this week.

Two of the deaths were in Venezuela after the storm passed north of the country, Remigio Ceballos Ichaso, the Venezuelan Minister of Interior Relations, said on state television VTV.

At least five others are missing in Venezuela, he said.

Venezuela was impacted by the outer bands and fringe of Beryl which caused flooding, specifically of the Manzanares River in the northeast of the country, the minister said.

Additionally, at least three people died in the Caribbean tri-island state of Grenada, with two dead on the island of Carriacou, according to Neila K. Ettienne, the press secretary for Grenada’s office of the prime minister.

At least one person died in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

Hurricane Beryl made landfall on Carriacou Island, Grenada, before making its way to Barbados, leaving a trail of destruction behind.

The storm tore through Grenada on Monday, blasting through buildings and knocking out power and phone service, the governor’s office said.

Beryl is expected to make landfall in Jamaica on Wednesday, according to the National Hurricane Center.

See the devastation:

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Beryl started from humble roots late last week before quickly becoming a monstrous hurricane and unleashing devastation this week.

Its entire evolution was captured from space.

The satellite imagery below shows Beryl’s life so far, from its origins as Tropical Depression Two on Friday to its strike on the Windward Islands as a violent Category 4 hurricane Monday to its historic Category 5 strength Tuesday.

It’s currently a very strong Category 4 hurricane.

A National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) WP-3d Orion hurricane hunter aircraft flies inside the eye of Hurricane Beryl over the Caribbean.

NOAA Aircraft Operations Center tweeted the photos from #NOAA43, known as “Miss Piggy” on Tuesday afternoon.

The official forecast from the National Hurricane Center now shows the center of Beryl making landfall in southern Jamaica on Wednesday. 

Beryl is forecast to be at least a Category 3 hurricane when it makes landfall on the southern coast of Jamaica Wednesday afternoon, according to the National Hurricane Center. Tropical cyclones that reach at least Category 3 strength are considered major hurricanes.

This track shift will increase the impacts felt by those in Jamaica as the hurricane’s eyewall — where the strongest winds are located — will pass over land. Because of this, the storm surge forecast has also increased and now water levels could rise up to eight feet above normal tide levels Wednesday.

The Category 4 hurricane has already left many Caribbean islands battered.

Catch up on the latest updates on the hurricane:

Beryl continues to gradually lose a little strength Tuesday and is now a very dangerous Category 4 hurricane as it churns in the Caribbean Sea, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Beryl now has sustained winds of 155 mph, just shy of the Category 5 threshold of 157 mph or greater.

Despite no longer being a Category 5 hurricane, Beryl will remain dangerously strong even as its winds decrease over the next day or so. Beryl is still forecast to be a major hurricane — at least Category 3 strength — when it makes landfall in Jamaica Wednesday.

Beryl is currently located about 175 miles southeast of Isla Beata, Dominican Republic, and 485 miles east-southeast of Kingston, Jamaica. It’s moving west-northwest at 22 mph. Hurricane-force winds extend 40 miles from Beryl’s center while tropical-storm-force winds reach 175 miles.

Hurricane warnings are in effect for:

A hurricane watch is in effect for the southern coast of Haiti from the border with the Dominican Republic to Anse d’Hainault.

President Joe Biden speaks about extreme weather at the DC Emergency Operations Center in Washington, DC, on Tuesday.

President Joe Biden said the United States is ready to provide assistance to places impacted by Hurricane Beryl as the Category 5 storm tracks toward Jamaica.

The president, speaking at an event about extreme weather on Tuesday, said the people and communities hit by Beryl are “in our prayers.”

The storm made landfall as a Category 4 on Monday on Carriacou island — part of the Caribbean nation of Grenada — which was “flattened” in half an hour, Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell said. Damage has also been reported on the island of Petite Martinique and in Barbados.

The National Hurricane Center said the mammoth storm is expected to make landfall in southern Jamaica on Wednesday.

The climate crisis: Biden said the globe needs to address the climate crisis as a cause of more extreme weather, including a more active and extreme hurricane season this year.

Planet-warming pollution is driving global and ocean temperatures and sea levels to rise, which is causing the impacts of hurricanes to become more dangerous. A warmer climate also means there will be more water vapor available in the atmosphere to potentially fall as rain.

CNN’s Ritu Prasad contributed reporting.

This post has been updated with additional remarks from Biden.

A woman stands at her front door looking at a huge tree on Sept. 14, 1988, that was felled by hurricane Gilbert as it crossed Jamaica.

Beryl is forecast to be at least a Category 3 hurricane when it makes landfall on the southern coast of Jamaica Wednesday afternoon, according to the National Hurricane Center. Tropical cyclones that reach at least Category 3 strength are considered major hurricanes.

Jamaica is no stranger to tropical cyclones, but the island’s size makes a direct hit from a tropical storm or hurricane even more rare. Only two hurricanes have made landfall in the country in the last 40 years: Sandy in 2012 and Gilbert in 1988. 

Sandy was a Category 1 hurricane when it slammed into Jamaica in 2012. But 1988’s Gilbert is perhaps the most infamous storm Jamaica ever endured. 

Gilbert roared ashore along Jamaica’s southern coast on September 12, 1988, packing sustained winds of 130 mph, making it a Category 4 by today’s standards. The hurricane inflicted catastrophic damage that totaled at least $2 billion at the time and led to the deaths of at least 45 people. 

Notably, the “B” storm name for 1988’s Atlantic hurricane season was also dubbed Beryl. It formed in August, reached tropical storm strength and made landfall in Louisiana.

It’s more common for tropical cyclones to track near Jamaica and lash the island with strong winds and torrential rainfall without directly striking the country. Seven named cyclones have passed within 100 miles of Jamaica since the 2020 hurricane season: 2020’s Laura, Nana and Delta; 2021’s Elsa, Grace and Ida; and 2022’s Lisa.

The White House said on social media that it is ready to provide support to the people of Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands as Hurricane Beryl is expected to make landfall in Jamaica tomorrow and impact surrounding areas.

The hurricane has already caused significant destruction and at least three people have died as a result of the storm.

In a post on X, the White House said President Joe Biden is monitoring the hurricane “closely” and has told US Agency for International Development and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to prepare “resources, partners and staff.”

Hurricane Beryl is expected to cause life-threatening winds, storm surge, and heavy rainfall as it heads to Jamaica on Wednesday, according to a news release from Jamaica’s Meteorological Service on Tuesday. 

Average winds of at least 74 mph are expected, the release said.

A combination of dangerously high water and exceptionally high waves along coastal areas are to be expected as well, the meteorological service reports.

As the eye of the hurricane moves closer to Jamaica, heavy rainfall will start early on Wednesday. A hurricane warning remains in effect for the country.

The official forecast from the National Hurricane Center now shows the center of Beryl making landfall in southern Jamaica on Wednesday. 

Previous forecasts had shown the center passing just south of the island. But Beryl’s track forecast has slowly shifted north over time and now the island is right in its path.

This track shift will increase the impacts felt by those in Jamaica as the hurricane’s eyewall — where the strongest winds are located — will pass over land. Because of this, the storm surge forecast has also increased and now water levels could rise up to 8 feet above normal tide levels Wednesday.

Beryl has lost a little strength this morning but still remains a life-threatening Category 5 hurricane as it churns in the Caribbean Sea, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Beryl now has sustained winds of 160 mph, down from 165 mph earlier this morning. Category 5 hurricanes have sustained winds of 157 mph or greater.

The hurricane likely reached its peak strength today between 6:00 and 8:00 a.m. EDT, according to the NHC. But Beryl will remain dangerously strong even as its winds decrease over the next day or so.

Beryl is currently located about 235 miles southeast of Isla Beata, Dominican Republic, and 555 miles east-southeast of Kingston, Jamaica, and moving west-northwest at 22 mph. Hurricane-force winds extend 40 miles from Beryl’s center while tropical-storm-force winds reach 175 miles.

A hurricane watch is now in effect for the south coast of Haiti from the border with the Dominican Republic to Anse d’Hainault. A hurricane warning remains in effect for Jamaica while other hurricane watches are in place for Grand Cayman, Little Cayman and Cayman Brac.

Hurricane Beryl could contribute to slightly higher US gas prices in the coming days.

The good news is that Hurricane Beryl does not appear to pose a direct threat to US energy facilities in the region.

However, traders are betting that Hurricane Beryl — the earliest Category 5 storm on record — implies an active 2024 hurricane season that will eventually impact US oil output or refinery activity. 

That’s one reason US oil prices jumped nearly 3% on Monday and climbed above $84 a barrel on Tuesday for the first time since late April. Analysts also blamed geopolitical concerns and forecasts for strong gasoline demand 4th of July weekend. 

It’s also still possible Hurricane Beryl impacts energy facilities. The National Hurricane Center is forecasting a northernly shift on Sunday, a route one could disrupt refineries in Texas.

Andy Lipow, president of consulting firm Lipow Oil Associates, also expects Hurricane Beryl will shut down oil tankers sending crude to Gulf Coast refineries. The loss of that Mexican oil could temporarily boost gas prices. Lipow expects the national price of gas will climb over the next week by 5 to 10 cents a gallon.

US gas prices increased by a penny to $3.50 a gallon on Tuesday, according to AAA. That’s down by four cents from a month ago.

Damage from Hurricane Beryl is seen in Carriacou, Grenada, on Monday.

The UN’s climate chief said that his home island of Carriacou, part of the Caribbean nation of Grenada, was “flattened” on Monday by Hurricane Beryl and that he had been unable to speak with family members there by phone for 24 hours as lines were cut. 

“But through social media, through other avenues, the picture is starting to form. My immediate family is safe, but the island is devastated,” UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell told CNN’s Becky Anderson in an interview Tuesday. 

“The eye of Hurricane Beryl struck my particular island, which is Carriacou — which is a 13 square-mile island, a population of 10,000 people — the eye, the most intense part of the hurricane struck yesterday morning local time. [The] island has been flattened. The reports that are coming out show a very, very distressing signal,” the UN official added.

Stiell said the people on the island had experienced a “traumatic” event and will have months of challenges ahead as entire buildings were destroyed with their roofs blown off, with more storms to come. Stiell’s late grandmother’s home was among those destroyed and his parents’ home was severely damaged.

The UN official called on rich countries and the G20 nations — which together account for 80% of the global carbon pollution that is rapidly heating the planet — to provide finance and technological solutions for developing nations.

Hurricane Beryl left Barbados battered with streets flooded and residents grappling with recovery. Strong winds and high waves caused fishing boats to collide and turnover, leaving them damaged.

In nearby Grenada, the Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell described the situation on the ground as “grim,” warning that there was no power and “almost complete destruction of homes and buildings on the island. The roads are not passable, and in many instances, they cut off because of the large quantity of debris strewn all over the streets.”

View images of the aftermath in Barbados:

A fisherman looks at fishing vessels damaged by Hurricane Beryl at the Bridgetown Fisheries in Barbados, on Monday, July 1.

Sylvia Small, right, waits for police approval to enter the pier to check her boat's damages due to Hurricane Beryl at the Bridgetown Fisheries in Barbados on Monday.

A man clears water from a damaged restaurant after the passage of Hurricane Beryl in Hastings, Christ Church, Barbados, on Monday.

Members of Barbados National Armed Forces clear a street of sand as it gets flooded by sea water after the passage of Hurricane Beryl in Oistins, Barbados, on Monday.

See more photos here.

NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick shared photos taken Monday of Hurricane Beryl from space.

In a post on X, Dominick said looking at the hurricane with his camera gave him “both an eerie feeling and a high level of weather nerd excitement.”

Take a look at the photos below.

At least three people have died after Hurricane Beryl hit Carriacou and Petite Martinique, Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, officials say.

There were two reported deaths in Carriacou and Petite Martinique, Grenada, the country’s Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell said at a news conference on Tuesday, citing Tevin Andrews, minister of Carriacou and Petite Martinique.

Earlier it was reported that at least one person had died after Hurricane Beryl hit St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves announced on Monday evening.

Hurricane’s aftermath: The island of Carriacou and Petite Martinique bore the brunt in Grenada as the eye of the hurricane passed through it, Mitchell said. The situation in Grenada is grim as there is still no power as of Monday, the prime minister said.

There is almost complete destruction of homes, buildings, and gas stations in Carriacou and Petite Martinique, and there is a “possibility of widespread destruction,” Mitchell said.

Movement in Carriacou and Petite Martinique is highly restricted and roads are not passable due to large quantities of debris on the streets, the prime minister said.

Due to the destruction of gas stations, heavy equipment operators are not able to receive fuel to move around the island and clear the debris and roads, Mitchell explained.

The country’s coast guard cannot go to Carriacou and Petite Martinique due to a marine advisory in Grenada, the prime minister added.

A private aircraft will take Grenada’s Commissioner of Police, members of Grenada’s National Disaster Management Agency (NADMA), and a technical assistance team to Carriacou and Petite Martinique, Mitchell said. Helicopters from the region have also been requested by the prime minister.

“As a nation we are coming to grips, with the reality of the devastation,” Mitchell said.

Beryl will remain a dangerous hurricane as it tracks west-northwest across the Caribbean Sea this week. The hurricane’s center will likely remain just south of many islands in the area, but its damaging winds and torrential rainfall will be wide-reaching. 

Jamaica will endure the worst of Beryl’s wrath with the hurricane’s center expected to pass very close to the island’s southern shore. 

Beryl will slowly lose strength Tuesday and Wednesday but will be a formidable hurricane through its landfall along Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula or northern Belize late Thursday night or Friday morning. 

Early this weekend, Beryl will push into the Gulf of Mexico as a tropical storm and head for the northeast coast of Mexico or the southern coast of Texas Sunday. 

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02:03 - Source: cnn

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02:03 • cnn

Hurricanes are named using every letter of the alphabet, except q, u, x, y and z.

There are six lists of names that are in rotation — the names used this year will be used again in 2030. 

But, if a storm is so impactful it will be remembered for years to come, the name is retired. For example, there will never be another Hurricane Katrina.

Hurricane Beryl — the earliest Category 5 Atlantic storm on record — is visible in satellite imagery here from the National Hurricane Center.

Jamaica activated protocols under its Disaster Risk Management Act late Monday as Hurricane Beryl barrels toward the Caribbean nation. 

The emergency measures approved by the cabinet “grants additional authority to coordinate and execute a range of emergency response activities,” a government statement said Monday.

Jamaica’s Meteorological Service upgraded the storm to a “hurricane warning” late Monday from a “hurricane watch.”  

“By invoking the Disaster Risk Management Act, we are taking a proactive stance to prepare and protect our nation against any potential threats posed by Beryl,” Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness said following the announcement.

Hurricane Beryl, currently a Category 5 hurricane, is expected to bring dangerous conditions to Jamaica on Wednesday. 

Hurricane Beryl remains an impressive Category 5 storm, according to the National Hurricane Center update, and is expected to bring life-threatening winds and storm surge to Jamaica on Wednesday and then impact the Cayman Islands on Thursday, where a hurricane watch has been issued.

Tuesday morning Beryl was located about 300 miles southeast of Isla Beata, Dominican Republic, and about 625 miles east-southeast of Kingston, Jamaica, and moving to the west-northwest at 22 mph.

Jamaica braces for severe impacts: A hurricane warning remains for Jamaica, where hurricane conditions will impact the island on Wednesday. Tropical storm-force winds are expected earlier in the day. Storm surge could raise water levels by as much as 4 to 6 feet above normal tide levels and rainfall of 4 to 8 inches with isolated totals up to 12 inches. 

Beryl lashes Hispaniola Tuesday: For Haiti and the Dominican Republic, the southern coasts remain under tropical storm warnings, with tropical storm conditions beginning later today. Storm surge up to 3 feet is possible, and rainfall totals could reach 6 inches.

Beryl should begin weakening later today, but it is still expected to be near major hurricane intensity as it quickly moves into the central Caribbean and passes near Jamaica on Wednesday and the Cayman Islands on Thursday. 

Beryl’s path: Beryl’s exact track becomes slightly less certain Thursday night and beyond. The hurricane is expected to make landfall somewhere along Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula or northern Belize Thursday night or Friday morning. Damaging wind gusts, torrential rain, dangerous flooding and storm surge are likely when this occurs.  

Beryl will lose some strength over land but is expected to enter the Gulf of Mexico as a tropical storm early this weekend. The storm could ultimately track toward northeastern Mexico or potentially the southern Texas coast late this weekend. 

Hurricane Beryl floods a street in Hastings, Barbados, on July 1.

India’s T20 World Cup-winning cricket team will finally be able to fly home Tuesday after being stuck in Barbados for several days due to Hurricane Beryl, a powerful storm churning through the Caribbean.

The team, which claimed a seven-run victory over South Africa on Saturday to lift the trophy, has been unable to leave Barbados since the island’s international airport suspended operations a day later as the storm strengthened. By Monday, it became a Category 5 Atlantic hurricane — the earliest on record.

“There are a number of people who were due to leave last night late or today or tomorrow morning. And we want to make sure that we can facilitate those persons, so I would anticipate that within the next six to 12 hours that the airport will be open,” Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley told journalists late Monday.

In a statement on Monday, the airport said that it would resume operations on Tuesday.

Read the full story.

Hurricane Beryl has left parts of St. Vincent and the Grenadines with no electricity or water, Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves said on Monday evening.

Gonsalves said local authorities are “working feverishly, urgently and with great focus to get electricity in certain places tonight,” he said, adding that hospitals are without power.

However, Gonsalves said government offices and facilities will reopen Tuesday and he urged business owners to “open.”

The island’s Argyle airport will not open Tuesday due to damage on one a fence, the prime minister said, adding that the airport is open to “receiving any aircraft which wants to bring any emergency supplies.”

The prime minister called on business owners to exercise their “sense of responsibility” to determine if employees should go to work.

Gonsalves said that with one confirmed death, residents seem to have “overwhelmingly” responded in a “responsible manner” to prepare for the storm, yet he called on residents to “stay inside” Monday.

The island’s meteorological service in its latest update said the hurricane no longer “poses a threat.”

“However, pockets of moderate showers, periods of light rain, isolated thunderstorms and occasional gusty winds will persist across our island,” the reports states.

The meteorological service urges the population to stay out away from the shores as “marine conditions are expected to be rough and hazardous.”

Barbados’ Grantley Adams International Airport will resume operations on Tuesday, the airport informed in a brief statement Monday. 

Due to Hurricane Beryl, the Barbados airport suspended its activity on June 30.

On Monday afternoon, once Beryl had passed, Barbadian officials gave an “all clear” alert to its residents.

At least one person has died after Hurricane Beryl hit St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves announced on Monday evening, adding that there may be more fatalities.

The prime minister said Union Island has been devastated and reports he received indicate 90% of the houses have been severely damaged or destroyed, with the island’s airport’s roof gone.

He said there are hundreds of houses in St. Vincent that have been severely damaged or destroyed, with some roofs blown off. Schools, churches and government buildings have also sustained severe damage. 

Fishing vessels lie damaged in Barbados on Monday.

Barbadian officials have given an “all clear” alert to residents in Barbados following Hurricane Beryl’s passage through the Caribbean Island.

“I believe we have gone through this system without any serious injury to people although there’s been considerable damage,” the Minister of Home Affairs and Information, Wilfred Abrahams, said during a press conference Monday.

The island country’s Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley said preliminary reports show “significant damage” to fishing vessels. “Probably as much as 20 may have sunk,” she said.

Abrahams warned civilians to exercise caution even though they want to “leave and move around.”

“Please do so with caution, the roads for the most part are clear, but that doesn’t mean you won’t find isolated instances of debris or lanes down,” he said.

Hurricane Beryl is seen in a radar image on Tuesday morning.

Hurricane Beryl has strengthened to a Category 5 Atlantic Hurricane, according to the 11 p.m. ET update from the National Hurricane Center (NHC).

This marks the earliest Category 5 Atlantic hurricane on record and the second time an Atlantic Hurricane has reached this strength in July, behind Emily in 2005. 

Hurricane Beryl continues to strengthen and is now at 165 mph, according to an update from the NHC at 2:00 a.m. ET. The storm is currently located around 775 miles east-southeast of Kingston, Jamaica, moving west-northwest at 22 mph. 

Beryl is expected to bring life-threatening winds and storm surge to Jamaica later this week. A hurricane warning remains for the island, where hurricane conditions will impact the nation on Wednesday. Tropical storm-force winds are expected earlier in the day on Wednesday. Storm surge could raise water levels by as much as 3 to 5 feet above normal tide levels and rainfall of 4-8 inches with isolated totals up to 12 inches. 

For Haiti and the Dominican Republic, the southern coasts remain under tropical storm warnings, with tropical storm conditions beginning later today. Storm surge up to 3 feet is possible, and rainfall totals could reach 6 inches. 

Carriacou has taken extreme damage from Hurricane Beryl’s landfall on Monday, according to the Grenada prime minister

We have “widespread reports of destruction and devastation in Carriacou and Petite Martinique,” Grenada Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell said in a news briefing.

Beryl made landfall shortly after 11 a.m. ET Monday on Grenada’s Carriacou island in the Caribbean with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph. It is the strongest known hurricane to pass through the Grenadines, according to data from NOAA that goes back to 1851.

Mitchell said there were no immediate reports of death or injury but warned that could change. 

“You have to appreciate the ferocity and the strength of the hurricane, and therefore, we are not yet out of the woods,” he said. “And we are not able to say for sure that no one has been injured or there has been no loss of life as a result of the hurricane.”

Hurricane Beryl’s arrival marks an exceptionally early start to the Atlantic hurricane season that forecasters have warned will be hyperactive.

Beryl is breaking records for June because the ocean is as warm now as it would normally be at the peak of hurricane season, said Jim Kossin, a hurricane expert and science advisor at nonprofit First Street Foundation.

“Hurricanes don’t know what month it is, they only know what their ambient environment is,” Kossin told CNN.

Kossin added the ocean heat fueling Beryl’s unprecedented strengthening “certainly have a human fingerprint on them.”

National Weather Service forecasters predict 17 to 25 named storms this season, with as many as 13 of those becoming hurricanes.