Texas braces for Beryl as experts warn the storm could strengthen in the Gulf of Mexico: Live updates

Beryl has weakened to a tropical storm but is expected to regain strength over the weekend

Hurricane Beryl on path for Yucatan Peninsula, Gulf of Mexico

Beryl is heading toward Texas after making landfall at the popular Mexico tourist destination Tulum on Friday morning with 85mph winds and dangerous storm surge.

Tropical Storm Beryl is set to bring dangerous rip currents to the Gulf Coast over the weekend before likely hitting southern Texas late Sunday. The storm will likely re-strengthen into a hurricane as it moves into the Gulf of Mexico, the National Weather Service said. Beryl is expected to hit Texas as a Category 1 hurricane, according to Accuweather.

Governor Greg Abbott warned Texans to prepare for impact.

“As Texans and visitors in south coastal areas celebrate Independence Day, I urge them to also make an emergency plan to stay safe,” Abbott said.

Hurricane Beryl has killed at least eleven people, the Associated Press reports. Two of those killed — the first in St George’s, Grenada and the second in Hanover, Jamaica — died after hurricane-force winds knocked trees onto their homes.

Hurricane Beryl devastated Jamaica on Wednesday, knocking out power to 400,000 and destroying buildings. Grenada was also left with “unimaginable” destruction after the storm passed through Monday, Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell said, leaving 98 percent of buildings damaged or destroyed.

Key Points

• Tropical Storm Beryl to hit Gulf of Mexico within hours
• Mapped: Beryl’s path
• Beryl on path to hit Texas by late Sunday
• Texas governor directs residents to make ‘emergency plan’ for Beryl
• Beryl downgraded to tropical storm
• Beryl death toll rises to eleven

[4 July 2024 13:47 · Amelia Neath]

Damaged fishing boats sinking in port after Hurricane Beryl lashes Barbados

Barbados was caught in the tail end of Hurricane Beryl, which passed by the island on Monday as a Category 4 storm with winds of at least 130mph, enough to cause significant damage.

Fishermen in the region said that all the boats at the Bridgetown marina suffered some degree of damage, while a few entirely sank under big waves that washed over the docks. Footage shows the water in the marina littered with the debris of smashed boats.

[4 July 2024 13:22 · Amelia Neath2]

Beryl remains a Category 3 hurricane as it passes southwest of Grand Cayman

The center of Hurricane Beryl, remaining a dangerous Category 3 storm, is passing just 50 miles (80km) southwest of Grand Cayman as of 8am EDT this morning.

Reports from a NOAA Hurricane Hunter aircraft states that maximum sustained winds are near 120 mph (195 km/h) with higher gusts as Beryl tears into the region.

Beryl’s hurricane-force winds are currently extending outward up to 45 miles (75 km) from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 175 miles (280 km).

Storm surges could raise water levels along the immediate coast of the Cayman Islands as much as two to four feet above normal, bringing with it large and destructive waves.

Beryl is also bringing rainfall totals of four to six inches over the Cayman Islands on Thursday, the same expected for the Yucatan Peninsula later today into Friday. The Yucatan Peninsula could see localized amounts of 10 inches as well.

Scattered instances of flash flooding is expected over the region and large surf swells currently impacting portions of the coast of Jamaica, Cuba, and the Cayman Islands, which have the potential to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.

These swells are also predicted to spread to the Yucatan Peninsula and portions of Central America later today and to eastern Mexico and much of the Gulf Coast of the US by late Friday .

Preparations were already underway before the hurricane reached the Cayman Islands, after Beryl already left a path of destruction it its wake this week through Jamaica, Grenada and St Vincent and the Grenadines.

More than 1,000 people in the Cayman Islands were evacuated, George Town officials said, as two dozen additional flights were added to help with the evacuations off the islands, The New York Times reported.

Premier Juliana O’Connor-Connolly appeared on Radio Cayman on Wednesday, according to the newspaper, and strongly urged residents to stay in place beginning at 6pm Wednesday until an all-clear was issued.

“Let us remain calm, stay prepared, look after one another as we face this challenge together,” she said. “We can minimize the impact of Hurricane Beryl and protect our community if we do it together.”

[4 July 2024 13:00 · Katie Hawkinson]

Shocking aerial photos show widespread devastation as Hurricane Beryl moves through Caribbean

[4 July 2024 12:59 · Amelia Neath]

What hurricanes has Jamaica experienced before?

After Hurricane Beryl passed near Jamaica on Wednesday, its hurricane conditions brought destruction to homes, power outages and the confirmed death of at least one person.

However, the island is no stranger to the wrath of deadly hurricanes ripping through the region.

While many hurricanes have passed near Jamaica in recent years, only a few have actually made landfall in the country in the past 40 years.

The most notable hurricane was one named Gilbert, which made landfall near Kingston, Jamaica on September 12, 1988 as a Category 4 hurricane, and remains an infamous storm event in the country.

The catastrophic storm sustained winds of 130mph, causing hundreds of millions of dollars in damage and leading to the deaths of at least 45 people.

The eye of Hurricane Gilbert barrelled its way across the entire island of Jamaica, only weakening back to 125 mph by the time it emerged from its western coast by late afternoon.

Other notable hurricanes that significantly hit Jamaica include Hurricane Sandy, which made landfall in 2012 as a Category 1 hurricane.

[4 July 2024 12:22 · Amelia Neath2]

Areas of Mexico and Texas told to monitor the progress of Beryl: Map

The National Hurricane Center has said there is uncertainty in the track and intensity forecast of Beryl over the western Gulf of Mexico this weekend.

Interests in eastern Mexico and southern Texas should monitor Beryl’s progress, yet regardless of what path the hurricane takes, rip currents could cause life-threatening beach conditions beginning late Friday and through the weekend across much of the Gulf Coast.

Meanwhile, hurricane-force winds, dangerous storm surge and heavy rainfall is expected over portions of the Yucatan Peninsula and Belize beginning Thursday night as Beryl approaches, with strong winds, dangerous storm surge, damaging waves and flooding expected in the Cayman Islands today.

Laura Velazquez, the head of Mexico’s civil defence agency said the hurricane is expected to make landfall along a relatively unpopulated stretch of the Caribbean coast between Tulum and the inland town of Felipe Carrillo Puerto.

Because the coast there is largely made up of lagoons and mangroves, there are few resorts or hotels in the area south of Tulum.

Ms Velazquez said that Beryl is then expected to hit Mexican territory a second time in the Gulf coast states of Veracruz or Tamaulipas, near the Texas border.

If Hurricane Beryl maintains its strength, it has the potential to hit southern Texas and Louisiana over the weekend, according to the National Weather Service.

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[4 July 2024 12:00 · Katie Hawkinson]

Satellite imagery: Hurricane Beryl’s eyewall slams into the southern coast of Jamaica.

[4 July 2024 11:55 · Amelia Neath]

Indian cricket team stranded by Hurricane Beryl in Barbados returns home to hero’s welcome

The Indian men’s cricket team arrived to a colourful welcome in capital Delhi on Thursday after being stranded in Barbados due to Hurricane Beryl.

The team was eagerly expected after being stranded for three days in the Caribbean nation due to the Category 4 hurricane which passed through Barbados early Monday morning, causing heavy storm and high winds in the region.

Despite overcast weather in Delhi, the mood on the team’s arrival from Barbados was lifted by dhol beats, flower bouquets and cakes bearing the winning team’s photos.

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