Hurricane Beryl Nears Cayman Islands

Hurricane Beryl was retreating from Jamaica and is expected to pass just south of the Cayman Islands overnight as a major hurricane, bringing intense winds and heavy rain, the National Hurricane Center said.

Beryl remained a Category 4 hurricane with winds of 130 mph and was about 160 miles southeast of Grand Cayman — the largest of the Cayman Islands. After roaring by Jamaica's southern coast, the hurricane was expected to unload "devastating hurricane-force winds, life-threatening storm surge, and damaging waves" across the Cayman Islands, according to the hurricane center.

The Cayman Islands could get up to half a foot of rain. Weather officials are also warning about life-threatening surf and rip currents along parts of western Cuba, the Yucatan Peninsula, and the coast of Belize.

Beryl was on track to approach the Cayman Islands and Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula about 24 hours later, still as a hurricane but weakened by expected wind shear.

In Jamaica, emergency crews evacuated people living in flood-prone communities and nearly 500 people were in shelters, according to Prime Minister Andrew Holness. Beryl's eye was located about 100 miles west of Kingston.

Flooding may last days to even weeks. Widespread power outages are expected. Beryl will likely damage many homes and businesses and cause severe coastal inundation.

The chances of Beryl impacting part of the Texas Gulf Coast have increased with the projected path veering northwest, AccuWeather reported, although it would not bring anywhere near the ferocity of its devastating assault on the southern Windward Islands earlier this week. 

The storm is projected to drench Jamaica with 4 to 8 inches of rain, and 12 inches are forecast in some places, which could cause "life-threatening flash flooding and mudslides," the NHC said. Holness declared all of Jamaica a "disaster area" and imposed an island wide curfew.