Hurricane Beryl hits Jamaica with rain and life-threatening winds ahead of landfall: Live updates

The National Weather Service has issued a Hurricane Warning for the coast of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula from Puerto Costa Maya to Cancun.

Hurricane Beryl, currently a Category 4 storm with 145mph winds, is expected to hit the peninsula on Thursday after sweeping through the Cayman Islands.

The hurricane is currently off the coast of Jamaica, where residents are bracing for life-threatening rain and storm surge.

As experts work to chart Hurricane Beryl’s potential path toward to the US this weekend, a meteorologist with Fox 35 Orlando says Texas and Louisiana residents should be on high alert.

“Continues on the point that the Texas coastline to Louisiana should keep tabs closely with Hurricane Beryl,” Noah Bergen said on X. “I think the most likely path at now would be more into far [southeast Texas] or [northeast Mexico], but there is clearly a wide range of outcomes.”

Meteorologists will have more clarity on Beryl’s path after it passes by Jamaica today, Bergen said. Beryl will hit the Cayman Islands overnight before slamming into Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula on Thursday, the National Weather Service said.

“Devastating” winds and “life-threatening” storm surge will hit Jamaica in a matter of hours, the National Weather Service (NWS) said moments ago.

Mountain regions in Jamaica will see the worst of the “destructive” winds, according to the NWS.

Ahead of Beryl’s arrival, officials declared Jamaica a disaster area and imposed a curfew on Wednesday.

There are more than 900 shelters across the country and an evacuation process for those in flood-prone and low-lying areas, Information Minister Dana Morris Dixon said on Wednesday morning.

The human-driven climate crisis is “contributing significantly” to Hurricane Beryl, Jamaica’s Minister of Local Government and Community Development Desmond McKenzie told CNN on Tuesday.

“As a small island state, we are subjected to what the greater world around us is presenting,” McKenzie told the outlet. Hurricane Beryl is set to hit Jamaica this afternoon before rushing towards the Cayman Islands.

The Alliance of Small Island States, an organization designed to create a unified voice for small island nations to address the ongoing climate crisis, issued a similar statement on Tuesday after Hurricane Beryl brought destruction to several islands in the eastern Caribbean.

“We continue to be sacrificed on the frontlines of a climate crisis we did not cause,” the statement said. “Our sea temperatures grow warmer, encouraging storms to strengthen at alarming speed and increasing the dire threat to our developing countries. The increased danger is evident for the world to see.”

High water temperatures can contribute to sea level rise and hurt marine life in addition to fueling strong storms like Hurricane Beryl. Ocean temperatures will likely continue to rise even if we curb greenhouse gas emissions, according to NOAA.

Island nations are at the front lines of the climate crisis, given their vulnerability to violent storms and sea-level rise.

“If the world does not stand with [Small Island Developing States] now, it is only a matter of time before we are all lost,” the alliance continued.

The US National Hurricane Center has also declared a hurricane watch for Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula, dotted with beach resorts popular with tourists.

Ahead of the storm’s approach expected Thursday night, Mexico’s defense ministry said the army, air force, and national guard had activated emergency response protocols in the three Yucatan states.

Some 120 shelters opened and nearly 4,900 troops on guard on the peninsula.

In the resort town of Cancun, supplies of the wooden boards used to protect shop fronts were dwindling as residents prepared for Beryl’s arrival.

Hundreds of southern Florida residents evacuated Jamaica this week, heading to Fort Lauderdale ahead of Hurricane Beryl, outlet Local10 reports.

“I couldn’t sleep last night because I didn’t know if I would be able to get out today, but it worked out fine,” Thomas Oliver told the outlet after arriving in Florida on Tuesday.

Norman Manley International Airport closed on Tuesday evening in preparation for the storm, according to the Jamaica Observer.

All preparations are in place to deal with Hurricane Beryl, according to Dana Morris Dixon, Jamaica’s information minister. There are more than 900 shelters across the country and an evacuation process for those in flood-prone and low-lying areas, Dixon said.

Hurricane Beryl will barrel through Jamaica and the Cayman Islands on Wednesday, the National Weather Service said in their latest forecast.

Then, it will move towards the Yucatan Peninsula and Belize while maintaining its strength. The NWS models show Texas could be in Hurricane Beryl’s path overnight Sunday into Monday.

Hurricane conditions will hit Jamaica at noon local time, the NWS said.