Category 4 Hurricane Beryl makes landfall in the east Caribbean with 150 mph winds

Grenada Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell told the Miami Herald the island remained under a state of emergency on Monday in the hours before the storm hit. As of 7 a.m., he said no major damage had been reported. The hurricane made landfall in the country around 11:10 a.m.

“The next eight hours are absolutely critical,” he said. “We expect significant rainfall, we expect significant wind gusts and we expect significant storm surges.”

In anticipation of Beryl’s arrival, Jamaican authorities announced Monday that more than 800 shelters across the country stand ready while earlier warning systems have been put up in some areas and relief supplies have already been secured.

“I want to give the country the assurance that the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management is in a position to respond, and to respond positively to any outcome that faces us over the next couple of hours,” said Desmond McKenzie, the minister in charge of local government and community development.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness said the unusual storm system with its historic strength and presence this early in the hurricane season “is a signal of the climate change issues that we are always very cognizant of.”

What’s next?

Once it clears the Windward Islands, Beryl’s future is a little less clear. The latest hurricane center forecast track keeps the storm on a straight shot to the Yucatan, where it could make landfall near Belize as a Category 1 hurricane or tropical storm on Friday morning.

On the way, it could pass dangerously close to Jamaica on Wednesday, enough to lash the island with high winds and storm surge.

The hurricane center said it was unclear what Beryl’s next move could be once it crossed the Yucatan. It could slow down to a crawl and dissipate over land, or reemerge in the hot Gulf of Mexico and potentially find a new target for landfall.

“The official prediction still shows Beryl emerging into the southwestern Gulf of Mexico as a tropical storm at day 5, but the track uncertainty is greater with more ensemble spread during this period,” forecasters wrote in the 5 p.m. discussion.

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