July 3 Update 4 a.m.
Hurricane Beryl is still a power, category 4 hurricane Wednesday morning with winds of 145 mph and gusts up to 175 mph. There are a few important things to note in the morning update from the National Hurricane Center. To start, Beryl has not weakened that much overnight even when impacted by wind shear, a factor that typically weakens tropical systems. The other updates are with the latest track of the storm.
First, Beryl might not make a direct hit with Jamaica, though the island will still feel the brunt of hurricane-force winds today. If the storm stays south of the island, the storm might not weaken as much as initially expected. This means the storm could stay a major hurricane, either a category 3 or 4, as it racks west towards the Yucatan Peninsula this week. Then Beryl could make landfall along the Yucatan as either a category 2 or even 3 hurricane depending on how quickly it moves and if wind shear across the Caribbean will weaken the storm.
Finally, the hurricane center now has Beryl strengthening once again when it moves into the Bay of Campeche. Beryl will likely weaken while over land in the Yucatan to a tropical storm, but then could strengthen to a category one hurricane as it makes it’s northern turn towards the Mexican and Texas Coast this weekend. Southeast Texas specifically is still not within the cone of uncertainty, but we need to stay alert as there is growing consistency that Beryl will take that northerly jog once it’s in the Gulf and could intensify too.
