According to an 8 p.m. update, Beryl’s eyewall was about 575 miles east-southeast of Isla Beata, Dominican Republic, and 910 miles east-southeast of Kingston, Jamaica, according to the National Hurricane Center. The storm was heading west-northwest at 21 mph with sustained winds near 155 mph, making it a strong Category 4.

The government of Jamaica has issued a hurricane warning for the island, meaning tropical storm-force winds are expected within the next 36 hours, the National Hurricane Center stated.

A tropical storm warning is in effect for the south coast of the Dominican Republic, from Punta Palenque, northwest to the border with Haiti, federal forecasters said. The warning is in effect for Haiti from the border with the Dominican Republic to Anse d’Hainault.

Early Monday, hurricane hunter planes swooped over the roiling storm and found it in the final stages of an eyewall replacement cycle, where a bigger, stronger eye emerges and dwarfs the previous one. Storms typically weaken a bit during the replacement cycle but some emerge stronger on the other side, as Beryl did.

Overnight, during the replacement cycle, the slightly weakened Beryl grew its wind field substantially, increasing its reach for storm surge and wind effects in the eastern Caribbean. Around 8 p.m., hurricane-force winds extended 40 miles from the center, and tropical storm-force winds extended up to 125 miles out.

Over the weekend, Beryl surpassed expectations and rapidly intensified into the first major hurricane of the season in the abnormally hot Atlantic. Beryl became the earliest Category 4 storm to form in the Atlantic, beating out a record from Hurricane Dennis set on July 8, 2005, a notably intense year for storms.

Battering in the Caribbean

It was too early to assess Beryl’s toll but the preliminary reports suggested widespread flooding and damage. Prime ministers of Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Antigua told the Miami Herald early Monday evening they had no confirmed deaths due to the storm yet.

“Initial reports have indicated significant damage and destruction to infrastructure and private property in some territories,” said Guyana President Mohamed Irfaan Ali, who currently serves as chairman of the 15-member Caribbean Community regional grouping known as CARICOM.

As Beryl battered the small island of Carriacou, off the coast of Grenada, in St. Vincent and the Grenadines residents were also feeling the Beryl’s strong Category 4 winds, which brought the surf inland. Prime Minister Gonsalves said the eye’s passage over the southern Grenadines “has caused severe damage in Grenada and we are getting the other bands of the wind.”

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