At 1100 AM AST (1500 UTC), the center of Hurricane Beryl was located
near latitude 15.3 North, longitude 68.9 West. Beryl is moving
toward the west-northwest near 22 mph (35 km/h), and this general
motion should continue through Wednesday, followed by a turn more
toward the west on Thursday. On the forecast track, the center of
Beryl will move quickly across the central Caribbean Sea today and
is forecast to pass near Jamaica on Wednesday and the Cayman Islands
on Thursday. The center is forecast to approach the Yucatan
Peninsula of Mexico on Thursday night.
Reports from Air Force Reserve and NOAA Hurricane Hunter aircraft
indicate that maximum sustained winds are near 160 mph (260 km/h)
with higher gusts. Beryl is a category 5 hurricane on the
Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Weakening is forecast later
today, but Beryl is still expected to be near major hurricane
intensity as it moves into the central Caribbean and passes near
Jamaica on Wednesday and the Cayman Islands on Thursday. Additional
weakening is expected thereafter, though Beryl is forecast to remain
a hurricane in the northwestern Caribbean.
Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 40 miles (65 km) from the
center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 175 miles
(280 km).
The latest minimum central pressure estimated from the Hurricane
Hunter aircraft data is 938 mb (27.70 inches).
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