Hurricane Beryl intensifies to category 5 storm – live updates today

Hurricane Beryl intensified to a category 5 storm after making landfall in the Windward Islands as it churned towards Jamaica.

The hurricane was located about 840miles (1,355km) east-southeast of Kingston, Jamaica, packing maximum sustained winds of 160mph (260km/h), the National Hurricane Centre said.

Beryl is now only the second storm on record to reach the intensity of category 5 in July, after Emily did so in 2005.

The storm is expected to remain a major hurricane as it moves through the Caribbean.

“Fluctuations in strength are likely during the next day or so, but Beryl is expected to still be near major hurricane intensity as it moves into the central Caribbean and passes near Jamaica on Wednesday, the National Hurricane Centre said.

Flights were delayed and canceled at the Piarco International Airport in Trinidad and Tobago as Hurricane Beryl raged through the eastern Caribbean, leaving travelers stranded on Monday afternoon.

A computer model of Hurricane Beryl’s many possible paths, known as a “spaghetti” model, shows the destructive Category 4 storm could hit the southeastern US in the coming days.

The model shows the storm potentially blowing into the Gulf Coast, near eastern Texas and Louisiana. However, meteorologists will not be able to make a definitive call about Hurricane Beryl’s potential impact on the US until it is much closer. This could take several days.

Residents in the Gulf Coast region should check with their local National Weather Service office for up-to-date weather information.

NOAA hurricane hunters said that the hurricane is moving “quickly across the southeastern Caribbean” in its 8pm EST update on Monday.

Beryl is moving WNW at 21mph, with top speeds of up to 155mph.

The National Hurricane Center has issued a hurricane warning for Jamaica as Beryl continues to barrel across the Caribbean.

The warning came in the 8pm update on the storm.

AccuWeather meteorologists say X labeled their projected Hurricane Beryl path as “false information” but allowed other obvious misinformation on the site – a decision that could cost lives.

The forecasting company beat every other agency by almost 30 hours with a prediction nearly identical to the National Hurricane Center’s, according to John Porter, senior vice president and chief meteorologist for AccuWeather.

However, X users labeled it with a community note.

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.

“Beryl is rewriting the history books in all the wrong ways,” Eric Blake, senior hurricane specialist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), said.

While natural weather patterns like La Nina can help drive catastrophic storms, 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.

Hurricane Beryl will travel through the Caribbean Sea towards the Yucatan Peninsula this week.

Officials received “widespread reports of destruction and devastation in Carriacou and Petite Martinique,” after the hurricane made landfall on Monday, Grenada Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell said.

“In half an hour, Carriacou was flattened,” Mitchell continued.