Hurricane Beryl tracker update: Category 2 storm makes landfall over Mexico, path now heads toward Texas

Hurricane Beryl weakened to a Category 1 storm as it made its way to southern Texas on Friday. The storm now has maximum sustained winds of 85 mph and is located about 680 miles from Brownsville, Texas, according to the National Hurricane Center

The deadly storm is still churning out “dangerous” winds, a powerful storm surge and damaging waves, and is still considered life-threatening, according to meteorologists.

Beryl is expected to lose more intensity as it moves over Texas late Sunday.

Here’s what you need to know about the damage Beryl has caused and its continued path.

Tracking Hurricane Beryl's current path

As of Friday morning, a hurricane warning was in effect for Mexico's eastern coast from Puerto Costa Maya to Cancun, which includes Cozumel.

While there are no warnings or watches issued for parts of the U.S. yet, those in the western Gulf of Mexico, including southern Texas, were advised to continue monitoring Beryl’s path.

Beryl's damage and impact

Beryl hit Jamaica on Wednesday as a Category 3 storm, causing widespread outages and damage before passing over the Cayman Islands and heading toward Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. Two deaths were reported by NBC News, and hundreds of thousands of customers were without power, according to local media.

Beryl did the most severe damage when it made landfall earlier this week on the Grenadines, a small belt of islands in the eastern Caribbean. About 90% of buildings and homes on three small islands were destroyed or damaged when Beryl made landfall earlier this week, officials said at a news conference held by the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency.

Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness has declared the country a disaster area until July 10.

Grenada Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell described the "total destruction" to the islands of Carriacou and Petite Martinique in Grenada at a news conference Wednesday.

"Having seen it myself, there is really nothing that can prepare you to see this level of destruction," Mitchell said. "It is almost Armageddon-like, almost total damage and destruction of all buildings, whether they be public buildings, homes or private facilities."

Mitchell also described "complete devastation and destruction" of agriculture and the natural environment, and severe damage to boats, marinas, and the electrical grid on Carriacou.

Experts shocked by Beryl's rapid intensification

Michael Lowry, a hurricane and storm surge expert, told the Associated Press that the rapid development of Beryl marked a "very serious threat."

"Beryl is an extremely dangerous and rare hurricane for this time of year in this area," he said in a phone interview with the AP. "Unusual is an understatement. Beryl is already a historic hurricane."

On Monday, Beryl became the earliest Atlantic hurricane to reach the Category 5 level. (It is both the earliest Category 4 and Category 5 storm on record in the Atlantic.)

The last strong hurricane to affect the southeast Caribbean was Hurricane Ivan in September 2004. Ivan battered Grenada as a Category 3 and killed 39 people.

The start of a busy Atlantic hurricane season

Beryl's emergence also marks an ominous start to the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, which typically doesn't ramp up until late July or August.

And experts agree that this could be one of the busiest hurricane seasons on record. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced in May that it expected eight to 13 hurricanes in the Atlantic, with four to seven of them classified as major hurricanes, meaning at least 111 mph winds.