Updated Jul 4, 2024 - Energy & Climate

Deadly Hurricane Beryl churns toward Mexico after lashing Jamaica

Residents look at a damaged drain in Shooters Hill, Jamaica, in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl on July 4, 2024. — Residents look at a damaged drain in Shooters Hill, Jamaica, in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl on July 4. Photo: Ricardo Makyn/AFP via Getty Images

The deadly Hurricane Beryl was barreling toward Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula where it's expected to make landfall early Friday after lashing the Cayman Islands and Jamaica with heavy rains and powerful winds.

The big picture: The storm's early formation, rapid intensification and location have broken records. While it's expected to weaken into a tropical storm across the Yucatán Peninsula, it's forecast to re-intensify over the Gulf of Mexico, threatening southern Texas over the weekend.

The storm that's killed at least nine people became on Monday the earliest-ever Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic before weakening to a Category 4 storm. On Thursday evening, it was a still-major Category 3 hurricane.

State of play: The hurricane had maximum sustained winds of 110 mph as it moved west-northwest at 20 mph some 215 miles east-southeast of Tulum, Mexico, as of 5pm Thursday ET.

A hurricane warning was in effect for the Yucatán Peninsula.
"Beryl is forecast to weaken into a tropical storm as it traverses the Yucatan Peninsula on Friday before emerging into the southwestern Gulf of Mexico on Saturday," per the National Weather Service.
"Beryl has an opportunity to re-intensify over the Gulf and turn more northwest toward the southern tip of Texas by the end of this forecast period Saturday evening."

Situation report: Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness told CNN two deaths had been reported in the storm, about 1,000 people were in shelters and some areas had lost telecommunications and electricity, but the damage was not as bad as feared.

"We have had some roads cut off a lot," he added.
Three storm-related deaths have been reported in Carriacou and three others in northern Venezuela.
St. Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves said at a briefing on Monday evening that the storm killed at least one person, adding: "There may well be more fatalities. We are not yet sure."
Grenadian Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell said at a Tuesday briefing: "The situation is grim" on Carriacou.

There's no power and "there is almost complete destruction of homes and buildings on the island" that's part of the Windward Islands, Mitchell said.
"The roads are not passable, and in many instances they are cut off because of the large quantity of debris strewn all over the streets," he added.
"The possibility that there may be more fatalities remains a grim reality as movement is still highly restricted."

Background: Hurricane Beryl formed on Saturday before traveling across the Caribbean.

It was the strongest on record to hit the southern Windward Islands at any time of year. It rapidly intensified as it made landfall on Grenada's Carriacou Island as a Category 4 hurricane on Monday.

Context: Studies show that climate change is leading to larger leaps in storm intensity and increasing the likelihood that tropical storms and hurricanes will rapidly intensify, compared to decades ago, per Axios' senior climate reporter Andrew Freedman.