Hurricane Beryl hits Mexico as Category 2 storm
MIAMI – Beryl is set to re-emerge into the Gulf of Mexico overnight and begin strengthening again on a track that puts most of the Texas coast in its crosshairs for a Monday hit.
Now a tropical storm, Beryl made landfall in Tulum, Mexico, early Friday and proceeded to weaken over dry land. Once back in the Gulf, however, forecasters expect Beryl to regain some of its strength and make the first U.S. landfall of the season over South Texas – potentially as a Category 1 hurricane.
Officials issued hurricane and storm surge watches for about half of the state’s coast, and they extend into Mexico as well.
The region could see up to 5 feet of storm surge, up to 10 inches of rainfall and high winds far beyond the area the eye comes ashore.
Eric Blake, a senior hurricane scientist at the National Hurricane Center, posted on X that Texas residents should be watching this storm.
“Pay close attention to Beryl – trends have been for a rightward (north) track shift and stronger. You have until Sunday to prepare for this hurricane, so use this time wisely,” he wrote.
The Caribbean is still reeling from the record-breaking storm, which claimed at least seven lives in the eastern Caribbean and two in Jamaica and destroyed most housing on some small islands. In Jamaica, plenty of homes remained without roofs, but official business had largely resumed by Friday morning.
United Nations representatives in the Caribbean called Beryl a huge blow to the development of several island nations.
“Events like this put the sustainable development of these countries back decades,” said Simon Springett, the U.N. resident coordinator in Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean. “It has such a major impact on their economic development.”
Despite the hostile air conditions Beryl encountered in the last few days, plus its encounter with the rugged coast of Jamaica, the storm managed to regain Category 3-force winds late Thursday and hold onto them all night, the hurricane center said. By Friday evening, however, Beryl was down to a tropical storm and had a much smaller wind field.
As of NHC’s 5 p.m. Eastern time advisory, Beryl was a tropical storm with 65 mph maximum sustained winds, headed west-northwest at 15 mph. It was about 610 miles east-southeast of Brownsville, Texas.
Forecasters warned that there is a chance wind shear, which eats away at storms, could die down in the region over the weekend and the hurricane could strengthen even more than currently predicted. As of Friday evening, the hurricane center called for Beryl to strike Texas as a high-end Category 1 hurricane with 90 mph sustained winds.
“This could be conservative if Beryl stays over water longer than currently forecast,” forecasters noted in the 5 p.m. discussion.