The Latest on Hurricane Beryl

This afternoon, Hurricane Beryl made landfall in Jamaica as a category four hurricane. Later in our newscast, we will hear from one Belizean student studying on the island nation. But, as Hurricane Beryl continues to move down a west, northwest projected path, it is expected to weaken as it encounters some windshear. According to Chief Meteorologist Ronald Gordon, the tropical system is forecasted to weaken as a result, before it makes landfall in the Yucatan Peninsula.

 

Ronald Gordon, Chief Meteorologist, NMS

“As of three local time this afternoon Beryl was centered near latitude seven point five degrees north, seventy-seven point six degrees west. That puts the hurricane about just over seven hundred miles east of Belize City. Beryl is moving to the west northwest at twenty miles per hour with maximum sustained winds of a hundred miles per hour. The track is for Beryl to continue a west, north westerly track for the remainder of today and take a turn more towards the west later tonight or tomorrow Thursday. That forecast track barely is expected to move south of the Cayman Islands tomorrow, still as a major hurricane and weaken slightly as it moved more to the norther western Caribbean Sea and eventually making landfall on the Yucatan Peninsula as either a strong category one or weal category two hurricane. Not much has changed since this morning in terms of the track forecast it remains still relatively the same place as it was. We remain under a tropical storm watch from Belize City northward to the border with Mexico including the island of San Pedro, Caye Caulker. And again, reminding residents in those areas that a tropical storm watch means that tropical storm conditions are possible within the watch area, in this case within the next thirty-six hours or so. The radius of tropical storm force winds, since that is what we are looking at here, extends on the southern semi-circle of the storm to about eight miles. And if you look at the map between the projected area of land fall and the border that is a little bit over a hundred miles. Therefore, we are looking at the possibility, there is a small chance that the extreme most northern areas under watch will experience tropical storm force winds if the system takes the most probable path and moves to the center of the cone. There is always that small chance that it moves to the south of the cone which would necessitate upgrading the watch to a warning or a hurricane warning. That is a small chance and we keep monitoring for that reason. We look at any slight jag to the west, any shift in terms of the track and we make that determination.”