Hurricane Beryl remains a Category 4 storm, 'life-threatening' conditions likely Wednesday in Jamaica
TAMPA, Fla. - Hurricane Beryl has weakened slightly, but remains a powerful Category 4 storm as it heads toward Jamaica.
Peak winds have dropped from 165 mph -- strong enough for Category 5 status -- earlier Tuesday to 150 mph. Along with the drop in winds, the pressure has risen, which is another sign the storm is weakening. A lower barometric pressure means a stronger or strengthening storm.
This is still a major hurricane as it approaches Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. The Cayman Islands are now included in the Hurricane Warning.
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The brunt of this storm will impact these islands on Wednesday. Jamaica could take a direct hit from the eye, and if it doesn’t, the island will still get the worst part of the storm as it passes just to the south.
Hurricane-force winds extend 40 miles from the center, while tropical-storm-force winds extend out about 175 miles.
NHC predicts life-threatening storm surge of 5-8 feet above normal tide levels, along with 6 to 12 inches of rainfall.
The 11 p.m. advisory Tuesday keeps Beryl on a similar track to what we’ve been thinking. By Thursday-Friday, the storm will pass the Yucatan Peninsula and Belize, where further weakening is expected.
Beryl has now become the:
- Earliest Category 4 hurricane on record in the Atlantic
- Earliest Category 5 hurricane on record in the Atlantic
- Fastest identification of a hurricane before September in the Atlantic