Hurricane Beryl upgraded to category 5 storm after making landfall in Caribbean
Hurricane Beryl has intensified to a category 5 storm after making landfall in the Windward Islands before bearing down on Jamaica and other parts of the Caribbean.
The Jamaican government has issued a hurricane watch with the storm expected to arrive on Wednesday (3 July).
The US National Hurricane Center warned Beryl could bring “life-threatening” winds and storm surge to the Caribbean island country later this week. At least one person has died so far.
The hurricane has now been upgraded to category 5, meaning it carries winds of in excess of 155mph, and is predicted to hit southeast Mexico by the end of the week.
Update: Hurricane Beryl due in Jamaica on Wednesday
On Monday evening (1 July), the Foreign Office issued new travel advisories for Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Saint Lucia, Jamaica, Barbados and Grenada.
Each advisory urged Brits staying on the islands to monitor international weather updates from the US National Hurricane Center and follow the advice of local authorities, including any evacuation orders.
The FCDO advisory for Grenada currently reads: “A major hurricane made landfall in Grenada including the island of Carriacou on the afternoon of Monday 1 July, significantly impacting services."
UK airlines are cancelling flights to the southeast Caribbean as Beryl approaches. According to The Independent, a Virgin Atlantic flight departed Barbados five hours early on Sunday (30 June) to avoid the approaching storm.
The transatlantic carrier on Monday confirmed it had cancelled departures to Barbados and connecting flights to Saint Vincent due to adverse weather conditions from Hurricane Beryl.
On Tuesday (2 July), a Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said: “As a result of the adverse weather conditions caused by Hurricane Beryl, we’re working closely with our local teams in the Caribbean to understand any impact to local airports infrastructure and minimise disruption to our services."
“We are contacting affected customers regarding their travel arrangements, including the option to rebook if they no longer wish to travel.
"We’d like to thank them for their patience and understanding and recommend that all customers due to travel to or from the Caribbean over the next 48 hours check the status of their flight on virginatlantic.com before going to the airport. The safety and comfort of our customers and people is always our top priority.”
Virgin Atlantic customers due to fly to Barbados, Saint Vincent or Grenada on 2 July or 3 July have the option to change their flight. Customers flying to Montego Bay Jamaica over 3-5 July can choose to change their flight as well.
After crossing the Windward Islands and into the Caribbean Sea, Hurricane #Beryl has continued to strengthen and is now the earliest category 5 hurricane on record in the north Atlantic region. pic.twitter.com/eVI8QjQYKD
— Met Office Storms (@metofficestorms)After crossing the Windward Islands and into the Caribbean Sea, Hurricane #Beryl has continued to strengthen and is now the earliest category 5 hurricane on record in the north Atlantic region. pic.twitter.com/eVI8QjQYKD
— Met Office Storms (@metofficestorms) July 2, 2024
Hurricane season, which runs from 1 June to 30 November, is predicted to be a busy one this year, forecasters have said. There could be up to 25 named storms in 2024, forecasters have predicted – up from 19 last year.
Hurricane Beryl is understood to be one of the earliest arrivals of the storms the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) warned of.
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