As Hurricane Beryl roars toward Jamaica, where’s the strong Cat 4 storm heading next?
As Jamaica braces for the strongest tropical storm to hit the island nation in 20 years, Hurricane Beryl — which briefly morphed into a record-breaking Category 5 storm late Monday — is churning west for the rest of the week as it roars through the Caribbean, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Where is Beryl heading next?
Wednesday
The powerful Category 4 storm is expected to reach Jamaica around 2 p.m. Wednesday afternoon with winds of up to 140 mph.
Beryl will hit as either a Category 3 or 4 storm, according to the Meteorological Service of Jamaica.
Thursday
Hurricane conditions are then expected to be felt in the Cayman Islands by Wednesday night or early Thursday morning, according to the hurricane center’s latest forecast.
Friday
From there, forecasters expect the storm to weaken some, but still possibly hit Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula — somewhere between Belize and Cancun — with strong winds and heavy rains, late Thursday and into Friday.
Will Beryl affect the Florida Keys?
Justin McReynolds, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Key West, said people in the Florida Keys should not anticipate any noticeable impacts from Beryl as it travels below Cuba on Thursday. Although a very powerful system, the total size of Beryl is not particularly large, he said.
“It’s a solid meatball, so we can expect normal summer conditions in the U.S.,” McReynolds told the Herald.
