Concern is growing in Texas, where the National Hurricane Center now predicts the storm will make landfall between Sunday night and Monday. By then, Beryl will likely have regained hurricane status and will intensify until it reaches landfall.
“There is an increasing risk of hurricane-force winds, life-threatening storm surge and flooding from heavy rainfall across portions of northeastern Mexico and the lower and central Texas coast Sunday night and Monday,” the Hurricane Center wrote Friday.
Computer simulations conducted Friday showed that the area around Corpus Christi was of particular concern, although changes in Beryl’s projected path — north or south — are possible. Additionally, hurricane impacts can occur hundreds of miles from where the storm’s center strikes.
Hurricane Beryl made landfall on Mexico’s coast around 6 a.m. just north of the resort town of Tulum, sweeping away palm trees with 100-mph winds and pounding communities with torrential rain. There were widespread power outages, but no casualties were reported, according to Laura Velázquez, the country’s civil protection coordinator.
At President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s morning press conference, she said that nearly half of Tulum and half of the territory of Isla Mujeres, another tourist destination, had lost power. Power was also cut in several neighborhoods on the island of Cozumel.
Strong winds toppled trees and power poles, but no one was killed or seriously injured, Velázquez said. Authorities rescued several people from flooded homes.
Cancun International Airport has canceled nearly 300 flights, while Tulum airport is not expected to reopen until Sunday.
Authorities urged residents and tourists to stay indoors due to downed power lines and trees.
The storm did not cause significant erosion of the region’s famous white-sand beaches, Gov. Mara Lezama said, citing hotel association reports. The hurricane also did not appear to cause major damage to five-star hotels, but it did batter the shabby homes of poorer residents in coastal communities. On TikTok, people described how winds ripped roofing panels off modest homes.
“The winds picked up last night and we lost power,” said a man who identified himself as John in Playa del Carmen, south of Cancun. “At dawn, the panels on the roof of our neighbors’ house blew off.” [car] the alarms keep ringing.
Leslie Diaz posted a video on TikTok from Playa del Carmen shortly before the hurricane hit. Her dog was hiding under the covers of the bed, scared.
“It’s almost 5 a.m. and there’s a horrible roar,” she said, as the wind whistled in the background. “It hasn’t hit land yet, but it’s already very strong.”
The region is no stranger to hurricanes: In 2005, Hurricane Wilma killed eight people and caused billions of dollars in damage. So Mexican authorities took extra precautions this time, sending nearly 10,000 soldiers, sailors and National Guardsmen to help victims and patrol rain-soaked streets.
As the storm is on a collision course with the western Gulf Coast, the Hurricane Center plans to issue tropical storm, storm surge and hurricane warnings for parts of Texas and northeastern Mexico.
As of 2 p.m. Eastern Time, the center of Beryl was located over the northwestern Yucatan Peninsula, about 650 miles (1,050 km) east-southeast of Brownsville, Texas, and was moving toward the west-northwest at 15 mph (24 km/h). Maximum winds had decreased to 70 mph (112 km/h), making Beryl a tropical storm. Weakening will continue until the storm re-enters the ocean.
As Beryl moves west-northwest across the Gulf of Mexico through the weekend, where water temperatures are in the mid-80s, the Hurricane Center predicts at least gradual strengthening.
Model simulations vary as to how quickly and to what extent Beryl will strengthen.
Hurricane-specific models do not predict rapid intensification. But larger-scale models, such as the U.S. and European models, predict what the Hurricane Center describes as “significant deepening as Beryl approaches the coast.” Unusually warm waters and favorable wind patterns at higher altitudes could fuel rapid strengthening.
But Beryl could be prevented from strengthening if the storm core is too disturbed and cannot rebuild after crossing the Yucatan.
Exactly where Beryl will land is another unpredictable element. Models project that Beryl will parallel the coast of Tamaulipas, Mexico, and Texas as it approaches, meaning that small oscillations in the trajectory will have dramatic implications for the final landing location.
One major factor that will influence Beryl’s projected path is a weakening of the jet stream over the central United States, which will attempt to pull Beryl northward. But when and where that pull will occur remains to be seen. If Beryl is stronger, it is more likely to be pulled northward toward the lower and central Texas coast, but if it is weaker, it will be more likely to hit northeastern Mexico.
For those living in northern Mexico or along the Texas coast, now is a good time to start preparing for a possible hurricane strike. A Category 1 or 2 hurricane is very likely, but a major Category 3 hurricane is not completely out of the question if Beryl intensifies more quickly than expected. “People interested in these areas should closely monitor forecast updates,” the Hurricane Center wrote.
The weather service office in Brownsville, Texas, is predicting at least 4 to 6 inches of rain in the area and up to 10 inches.
“Precipitation is not the only hazard associated with Beryl,” the weather service wrote. “The risk of rip currents is high.[s]storm surge, destructive coastal waves including coastal flooding, high surf and tropical storm force winds. Beryl could also bring a few short-lived tornadoes to the area.
The weather service office in Corpus Christi, Texas, also urged residents to start preparing, noting the risk of coastal flooding, a high risk of rip currents and heavy rain.
Beryl became the first hurricane of the 2024 season and the earliest Category 5 hurricane on record in the Atlantic on Monday night. The storm, fueled by record-breaking ocean waters, broke records for the strength and speed at which it intensified so early in the season, stunning meteorologists.
The storm first hit Grenada, St. Vincent and other Caribbean islands on Monday, leaving widespread destruction. — including on the Grenadian islands of Carriacou and Petite Martinique — and have left at least five people dead. Three additional deaths have been reported in Venezuela.
In Carriacou, home to about 7,000 people, the hurricane caused “total devastation all around,” said Allison Caton, 50, owner of the Paradise Beach Club, a restaurant and bar on Paradise Beach that was destroyed. Many islanders are now living in makeshift shelters at schools.
The storm brushed Jamaica’s southern coast on Wednesday, bringing torrential rain and winds gusting to over 80 mph (130 km/h) that destroyed homes and toppled trees and power lines. At least two deaths were reported and about 65% of Jamaica Public Service Co. customers, or about 400,000 homes, were without power Thursday, the BBC reported.
The storm brought strong winds and heavy rain to the Cayman Islands Wednesday night before moving toward the Yucatan Peninsula.
Gabriela Martinez, Jason Samenow, Amanda Coletta, Kim Bellware, Samantha Schmidt and Anumita Kaur contributed to this report.
