At 500 PM EDT (2100 UTC), the center of Hurricane Beryl was located
near latitude 17.5 North, longitude 77.6 West. Beryl is moving
toward the west-northwest near 20 mph (31 km/h), and this general
motion should continue through this evening, followed by a turn
more toward the west tonight or Thursday. On the forecast track,
the center of Beryl will pass near or over the southern coast of
Jamaica during the next few hours. After that, the center is
expected to pass near or over the Cayman Islands tonight or early
Thursday and move over the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico Thursday
night or early Friday.
Maximum sustained winds are near 140 mph (220 km/h) with higher
gusts. Beryl is a category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson
Hurricane Wind Scale. Some weakening is forecast during the next
day or two. However, Beryl is forecast to be at or near major
hurricane intensity while it passes the Cayman Islands. Additional
weakening is expected thereafter, though Beryl is forecast to
remain a hurricane until it makes landfall on the Yucatan Peninsula.
Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 45 miles (75 km) from the
center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 185 miles
(295 km). Kingston, Jamaica, recently reported sustained winds of
48 mph (78 km/h) and a wind gust of 81 mph (130 km/h).
The estimated minimum central pressure is 959 mb (28.32 inches).
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