The storm, which has killed at least 11 people across the Caribbean, is expected to reach hurricane strength again as it passes through the Gulf of Mexico.
Tropical Storm Beryl is expected to strengthen. We’re heading across the Caribbean Sea and through deadly mountain passes towards Texas, USA.
The storm is expected to hit the Texas coast Sunday night, two days after making landfall on Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula.
Beryl has weakened to a tropical storm, but is expected to strengthen into a hurricane again as it passes through the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
No deaths were reported in Mexico, but Beryl killed at least 11 people across the Caribbean after pounding Jamaica, Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and northern Venezuela with strong winds and heavy rain.
According to the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC), the storm rapidly grew into a Category 4 hurricane as it moved through the region, briefly reaching Category 5 strength.
It was the strongest storm ever recorded early in the Atlantic hurricane season, a phenomenon scientists say was caused by human-caused climate change.
Beryl is expected to make landfall in Texas as a Category 1 hurricane somewhere between Brownsville and north of Corpus Christi. Senior expert Jack Beben told The Associated Press:
But he warned that the storm could intensify if Beryl “stays above water longer” than expected.
He said the storm could have wind gusts of 27 to 37 kilometers per hour (17 to 23 miles per hour) over the next 24 hours.
The weather service warned that storm surges could occur along the coasts of northeastern Mexico and Texas, with the potential for flash flooding and life-threatening rapids.
Beryl caused property damage and power outages across Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, one of the country’s most popular tourist destinations.
Key messages for Tropical Storm Atoll on July 6 at 4:00 a.m. CDT #beryl:
It is expected to strengthen in the Gulf of Mexico this weekend. #hurricane It is expected to impact parts of northeastern Mexico and the Texas coast from Sunday night into Monday.
recent: https://t.co/RX183IoxPZ pic.twitter.com/Q9lBmHgbd2
— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) July 6, 2024
As the storm approached, hundreds of tourists were evacuated from beachfront hotels, and the military deployed about 8,000 troops to Tulum to deliver food and 34,000 liters of purified water.
At Cancun airport, more than 100 domestic and international flights scheduled for Thursday through Friday were canceled.
The storm moved along Venezuela’s northern coast, where it killed three people.
Three more people died in Grenada, where two islands – Cariac-Ou and nearby Petite Martinique – were the hardest hit.
Island Minister Tevin Andrews appealed to the United Nations and humanitarian organizations on Friday for “everything that will keep people alive.”
Neighboring St. Vincent and the Grenadines has also been hit hard, Simon Springett, the U.N.’s top humanitarian official for the eastern Caribbean and Barbados, told the AP. At least three people have been reported killed in the country.
In Jamaica, two people have died and thousands are without power.
Beryl’s strength is attributed primarily to the unusually warm ocean waters that generate strong winds.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), temperatures in the North Atlantic are 1 to 3 degrees Celsius (1.8 to 5.4 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than usual.
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