Hurricane Beryl tracker: Storm downgraded to Category 4 as it churns toward Jamaica, leaving multiple dead in its path

At least six people have died Tuesday as Hurricane Beryl pummels parts of the Caribbean. While the hurricane has lost some of its intensity, downgrading to a Category 4 from the most severe Category 5 level, it is still on track to be “life-threatening” as it passes south of the Dominican Republic and makes its way to Jamaica.

Grenadian Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell told reporters that the likelihood of more deaths “remains a grim reality.”

At a press conference on Tuesday, President Biden promised to provide assistance to the people affected by Hurricane Beryl, and also outlined new efforts to address extreme heat and hazardous weather.

The White House said in a post on X that it is closely monitoring the storm and “connecting with officials on the ground, including USAID and FEMA, to ready resources, partners, and staff.”

“We are ready to support the people of Puerto Rico, the USVI, and the region, and urge residents to heed local guidance,” read the post.

Here’s what you need to know.

🌊 Beryl is now a deadly hurricane

At least three people have died in Carriacou and Petite Martinique, Grenada, another person has died in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and two people were killed in Venezuela, according to officials there.

“The situation is grim,” Mitchell said at the news conference. “There is no power, and there is almost complete destruction of homes and buildings on the island. The roads are not passable, and in many instances they are cut off because of the large quantity of debris strewn all over the streets.”

Beryl’s maximum sustained winds at one point reached 165 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center, and a hurricane warning has been issued for Jamaica later this week.

Beryl is now the earliest Atlantic hurricane to reach the Category 5 level. Its emergence marks an early start to the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, which typically doesn’t ramp up until late July or August.

Beryl is also expected to bring “life-threatening winds” and storm surge to Jamaica on Wednesday, according to the hurricane center.

Due to record warm water temperatures for this time of year, Beryl transformed from a tropical depression on Friday to a tropical storm on Saturday morning, before it was upgraded to a hurricane hours later. Its strength has intensified quickly from there.

☔️ What is Hurricane Beryl’s path?

The hurricane center said Beryl first made landfall on Carriacou Monday morning.

Beryl’s wind speed was the strongest on record for the Grenada, the Grenadines and St. Vincent, according to Weather Channel senior meteorologist Jonathan Erdman.

Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago were also among the areas feeling Beryl’s impact early Monday.

A hurricane warning is now in effect for Jamaica on Wednesday, where heavy rains and flash flooding are possible. Hurricane watches are in effect for Grand Cayman, Little Cayman and Cayman Brac, and a tropical storm warning is in effect for parts of the island of Hispaniola.

Storm warnings are issued for an area when weather conditions are expected to arrive within 36 hours.

Those in Belize, the Yucatan Peninsula, the remainder of the northwest Caribbean, and the southwest Gulf of Mexico are advised by the hurricane center to monitor the storm’s progress, as Beryl’s path later in the week is uncertain.

➡️ Experts shocked at Beryl’s rapid intensification

Michael Lowry, a hurricane and storm surge expert, told the Associated Press that this rapidly developing hurricane is a “very serious threat.”

“Beryl is an extremely dangerous and rare hurricane for this time of year in this area,” he said in a phone interview with the AP. “Unusual is an understatement. Beryl is already a historic hurricane.”

The last strong hurricane to affect the southeast Caribbean was Hurricane Ivan in September 2004. Ivan battered Grenada as a Category 3 and killed 39 people.

Hurricane Beryl is both the earliest Category 4 and Category 5 storm on record in the Atlantic.

🌎 The start of a busy Atlantic hurricane season

Experts agree that this could be one of the busiest hurricane seasons on record. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced in May that it expected eight to 13 hurricanes in the Atlantic, with four to seven of them classified as major hurricanes, meaning at least 111 mph winds.