Hurricane Beryl maps show path and landfall forecast (2024)

Hurricane Berylwas passing the Cayman Islands on Thursday morning after it roared past Jamaica on Wednesday as apowerful Category 4storm. It made landfall Monday on the island of Carriacou in Grenada while tearing through the Caribbean, strengthening at times to a Category 5 storm — thestrongest rating.

What is the projected path of Hurricane Beryl?

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said the center of Beryl was expected to move past the Cayman Islands on Thursday before hitting Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula early Friday. Beryl was expected to emerge in the Gulf of Mexico on Friday night. "Weakening is forecast during the next day or two, though Beryl is forecast to remain a hurricane until it makes landfall on the Yucatan Peninsula," the hurricane center said.

A hurricane is considered major when it's aCategory 3 or higher, with winds of at least 111 mph. As of Thursday morning, Beryl was a Category 3 with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph, the hurricane center said.

Beryl was some 50 miles southwest of Grand Cayman island and 385 miles east-southeast of Tulum, Mexico. It was moving west-northwest at 20 mph, according to the center.

Will Hurricane Beryl hit Texas?

CBS affiliate KHOU-TV reportedthat whether Berylcrashes into Texas depends on how much strength it loses as it goes over land as well as conditions in the Gulf of Mexico in the coming days. One key factor will be how wind shear affects Beryl.

"The flow of the wind pattern as it enters the Gulf is going to be more hostile," KHOU-TV meteorologist Kim Castro said. "The atmospheric conditions are going to start ripping it apart."

Another factor will be an area of high pressure in Texas that has been acting as a barrier but is forecast to move east later this week.

"Depending on where Beryl is situated, it could track towards Tampico (Mexico), the area where these tropical storms have tracked so far this season," Castro said. "…However, if this tracks a little further to the north, there would be nothing to kind of nudge it south, so there is a little exposure to the Texas coastline."

The hurricane center urged people in southern Texas to monitor Beryl's progress.

A hurricane warning was discontinued for Jamaica but one was posted for the Cayman Islands, as well as the Yucatan's east coast.

Where is Hurricane Beryl bringing rain and flooding?

Jamaica experienced torrential rainfall and life-threatening flash flooding Wednesday.

Early Thursday, the hurricane center said the Caymans were forecast to get 4 to 6 inches of rain from Beryl. "Over the Yucatan Peninsula, Beryl is expected to produce rainfall totals of 4 to 6 inches, with localized amounts of 10 inches, later today into Friday. Scattered instances of flash flooding are anticipated," the center continued.

Beryl became thefirst hurricaneof the 2024Atlantic hurricane seasonon 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 recordsas 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.

Brian Dakss, Alex Sundby and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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