Hurricane Beryl heading toward Jamaica

Note: This story was compiled early Tuesday from multiple news sources, and we are reaching out to the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association for more details.

CARIBBEAN - Hurricane Beryl, the earliest Category 5 storm in the Atlantic basin on record, is heading toward Jamaica on Tuesday morning after damaging buildings and knocking out power across the southern Windward Islands.

Beryl hit Carriacou Island in Grenada on Monday as an “extremely dangerous” Category 4 hurricane with winds that had increased to 150 mph, causing at least one death with more expected and creating major damage across the Grenadines and St. Vincent. The prime minister said Union Island has been devastated with 90% of the houses have been severely damaged or destroyed, with the island’s airport’s roof gone.

On St. Lucia, tourists were spared as the storm passed well to the south. In Barbados, the all clear sign has been given with the airport reopening.

Beryl is expected to bring life-threatening winds and storm surge to Jamaica on Wednesday, according to the National Hurricane Center, while the U.S. is expected to avoid direct impact. The hurricane is expected to impact the Cayman Islands on Thursday, where a hurricane watch has been issued.

Early Tuesday morning, Beryl was located about 270 miles southeast of Isla Beata, Dominican Republic, and about 700 miles east-southeast of Kingston, Jamaica, and moving to the west-northwest at 22 mph.

Storm surge in Jamaica could reach up to 3 to 5 feet above normal tide levels in “areas of onshore winds along the immediate coast,” according to the hurricane center.

Jamaica’s government has issued a hurricane warning for the country, while tropical storm warnings were in effect for parts of the southern coasts of Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

AccuWeather stated the storm will move westward toward Mexico after skirting Jamaica and could move farther north and potentially impact the Gulf Coast.