Hurricane Beryl remains on track to bring heavy rainfall, “life-threatening” winds and flooding to parts of the Caribbean this week, with forecasters warning that it could remain at least a tropical storm as it moves towards Mexico.
The National Hurricane Center said in an update early Tuesday that the storm, which remains a Category 5 and is currently in the Caribbean Sea some 300 miles southeast of the Dominican Republic, had sustained windspeeds of almost 165 mph — making it the strongest hurricane ever recorded, beating Emily from 2015.
The NHC said the predicted westward path of the Beryl across the Caribbean had nudged slightly to the north but said the ultimate direction of the storm is uncertain beyond the next 72 hours, with a very large spread currently forecast as it moves into the Gulf of Mexico.
The NHC said it was possible the storm could diminish in power as it moves over Jamaica and it could emerge as anything from a tropical storm to a powerful hurricane as it approaches Mexico’s Yucatan peninsular.
“I am encouraging all Jamaicans to take the hurricane as a serious threat,” Jamaica Prime Minister Andrew Holness warned.
Jamaica upgraded its advisory to a hurricane warning, up from a watch, and Holness urged people to seek higher, safer ground. He also warned that emergency services would not be able to operate during the peak of hurricane conditions.
A large swathe of the Caribbean is now preparing for significant impact and damage this week. Jamaica remains subject to a hurricane warning, with heavy rain and flooding likely there on Wednesday.
The storm surge in Jamaica could reach 3ft to 5ft above normal tide levels, with up to 12in of rain in places.
So far there have been two deaths related to the storm, one in St Vincent and the Grenadines and one in Grenada.
Tropical storm warnings are in place for the south of Hispaniola — the island that consists of Haiti and the Dominican Republic — while a hurricane watch is in place for the Cayman Islands, which is due to be hit by the storm on Thursday.
Beryl is the first hurricane classed as category 4 or higher to appear in June and the earliest category 4 storm of the Atlantic hurricane season.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
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