Yucatán peninsula on alert as Hurricane Beryl barrels through Carribbean

July 2, 2024

Hurricane Beryl has set the record for the earliest Category 5 Atlantic hurricane in history. — Hurricane Beryl, now moving across the Caribbean, has set the record for the earliest Category 5 Atlantic hurricane in history. (NOAA)

Category 5 Hurricane Beryl is currently barreling through the Caribbean, prompting Mexican states in its pathway to issue warnings to residents.

Less than two weeks after Tropical Storm Alberto brought torrential rains across large swaths of the Yucatán Peninsula and northeastern Mexico, current models indicate Beryl, the first Atlantic hurricane of 2024, will be following virtually the same path.

A map of storm winds from Hurricane Beryl and their projected arrival time — Storm winds from Hurricane Beryl will likely hit the Yucatán Peninsula by Thursday. NOAA)

On Monday night, the government of Quintana Roo issued a “Green Alert,” an official low-danger warning that a cyclone is approaching.

Quintana Roo authorities advised residents to tape up windows, tie down items that could be tossed around by high winds, cut back tree limbs near power lines and make sure drains and sewers are not clogged. Governor Mara Lezama is continuing to issue updates on her social media accounts.

Beryl has set several records already. The second named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, Beryl became the first Category 5 storm ever to form in the Atlantic Ocean in the month of June.

Hurricane Beryl made landfall Monday on Carriacou Island, a small island between Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and has killed at least four people, according to NBC News.

Drone video captured by storm chaser @bclemms shows scenes of devastation on the island of Carriacou after Hurricane Beryl slammed into the coast as a Category 4 storm. pic.twitter.com/c2VMJh2o5i

— AccuWeather (@accuweather) July 2, 2024

On Tuesday morning, the U.S. National Hurricane Center/NOAA issued a public advisory stating that “Beryl continues moving quickly west-northwestward across the central Caribbean Sea … [and is] expected to bring life-threatening winds and storm surge to Jamaica on Wednesday.”

The advisory went on to say: “Interests elsewhere in the northwestern Caribbean, including the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico, should closely monitor the progress of Beryl. Additional watches or warnings will be required later [Tuesday].”

Mexico’s national weather agency issued advisories to states on the Yucatán Peninsula (Yucatán, Campeche and Quintana Roo) as well as Veracruz to expect heavy rains and lightning storms on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, states along the Gulf Coast were taking inventory after the passage of Tropical Storm Chris, which developed in the Bay of Campeche on Sunday and came ashore in Vega de Alatorre, Veracruz.

Now a tropical depression, Chris dissipated over eastern Mexico on Monday morning. Chris was the third named storm of the 2024 hurricane season.

With reports from El Universal, La Jornada Maya and NBC News