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Hurricane Beryl is barreling toward Jamaica as a Category 4 storm with 155mph winds after charting a deadly path through Grenada and St Vincent and the Grenadines, flattening buildings and killing at least six.
Beryl intensified to the earliest Category 5 storm recorded in the Atlantic overnight before weakening back to Category 4 on Tuesday. The storm made landfall in the Windward Islands on Monday, where it “flattened” Carriacou Island within half an hour, Grenada Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell said.
Hurricane Beryl has killed at least six people: Three in Grenada, two in northern Venezuela and one in St Vincent and the Grenadines. One of the victims died in Grenada’s capital after a tree fell on their home, Mitchell said.
This evening, the Category 4 storm will bring up to three feet of storm surge to Hispaniola.
Hurricane Beryl will reach Jamaica, which is now under a Hurricane Warning, on Wednesday. Residents of the Cayman Islands are also bracing for Hurricane Beryl to hit on Thursday night. The storm will likely maintain strength as it travels.
The Category 4 hurricane also has the potential to hit Texas over the weekend, according to projections from the National Weather Service.
Video: NOAA flies into eye of Hurricane Beryl
Hurricane Beryl kills at least six people
Hurricane Beryl’s death toll rose to six this afternoon, the Associated Press reports, after the Category 4 storm devastated the eastern Caribbean.
At least three people were killed in Grenada and Carriacou. One of them died in St. George’s, Grenada’s capital, after a tree fell on their home.
“This hits home,” Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell said. “The deceased person is in fact the relative of one of the persons who spent the last 36 hours with us here at the National Emergency Operating Center.”
One person was also killed in St Vincent and the Grenadines, Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves said on Monday.
Meanwhile, officials reported two deaths in northern Venezuela, as well as five people missing amid heavy rainfall from the hurricane, the Associated Press reports.
The deadly storm is now barreling towards Jamaica, where it is expected to hit on Wednesday.
Hurricane Beryl weakened to Category 4
However, it is just below the Category 5 threshold of 157mph.
The storm will still bring life-threatening conditions to Hispaniola overnight and Jamaica on Wednesday, the NWS said.
See it: Inside the eye of Hurricane Beryl
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) sent a crew to fly straight into the eye of Hurricane Beryl to collect data for future forecasting and research.
The plane they used, nicknamed “Miss Piggy,” is one of only two aircraft in the world built to specifically fly into the eye of a hurricane, according to the US Air Force.
President Biden speaks on extreme weather and climate crisis
As Hurricane Beryl rages through the Caribbean Sea, President Joe Biden spoke on the impacts of the climate crisis.
“Everyone who wilfully denies the impacts of climate change is condemning the American people to a dangerous future, and either is really, really dumb or has some other motive,” Biden said on Tuesday afternoon.
Record-warm ocean temperatures gave Hurricane Beryl the strength to grow from a tropical depression to a Category 4 storm in a matter of days.
While natural weather patterns like La Nina can help drive catastrophic storms like Hurricane Beryl, the human-driven climate crisis still plays a role, as oceans absorb more than 90 percent of excess heat produced by greenhouse gases.
High water temperatures can contribute to sea level rise and hurt marine life in addition to fueling strong storms like Hurricane Beryl. Ocean temperatures will likely continue to rise even if we curb greenhouse gas emissions, according to NOAA.
Satellite imagery: Hurricane Beryl moves through Caribbean Sea
Spaghetti models show potential paths for Hurricane Beryl this week
Tuesday afternoon spaghetti models show Hurricane Beryl could head directly to the southern tip of Texas over the next several days.
Spaghetti models show the potential paths a storm might take. The more clustered the lines, the more confidence there is in that path. However, the models do not predict storm strength or impact.
Forecasters will be able to make more confident projections as Hurricane Beryl gets closer to the Gulf Coast later this week.
For now, Jamaica and Hispaniola are bracing for the Category 5 storm to pass through their region on Wednesday.
Texas now in Hurricane Beryl’s potential path
The southern tip of Texas could potentially be hit by Hurricane Beryl in the coming days, according to the latest projections from the National Weather Service.
The hurricane is projected to hit the region on Sunday, but that forecast could change as the eye of the storm travels north in the coming days.
For now, the Category 5 storm is barreling towards Jamaica and Hispaniola, where it will bring dangerous rainfall and storm surge.
The storm has already killed at least two people in the eastern Caribbean. The extreme winds and storm surge devastated homes and infrastructure throughout the region, leaving many without power.
Bird’s eye view: Hurricane Beryl, now Category 5, races towards Jamaica
In photos: Devastation in Bequia after Hurricane Beryl
Hurricane Beryl destroyed homes and knocked out power as it passed through Bequia, the largest island in the Grenadines.
At least one person died on the island because of the storm, Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves said on Monday. The hurricane also damaged or destroyed 90 percent of homes on the nation’s Union Island.
Source: independent.co.uk
