By Jack Phillips
Contributing Writer
Hurricane Beryl remained a Category 2 storm as it pummeled the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico on Friday morning as the U.S. State Department sent out a new weather advisory.
A National Hurricane Center forecasting model suggests Beryl will downgrade into a tropical storm before it emerges in the Gulf of Mexico. The storm is then expected to gain strength and again become a hurricane before slamming into the U.S.-Mexico border area in southern Texas on Monday, July 8.
Beryl spread destruction in Jamaica, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Barbados in recent days and on Tuesday became the earliest storm to develop into a Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic. Three people have been reported dead in Grenada, three in St. Vincent and the Grenadine, three in Venezuela and two in Jamaica, officials said.
Mexico’s Yucatan Civil Protection Department confirmed on social media the storm touched down at 7:05 a.m. eastern time, north of Tulum, with winds of 108 mph.
After landfall in Mexico on Friday, Hurricane Beryl’s maximum windspeeds had decreased to 100 mph, but Tulum would continue to see “large and destructive waves,” the hurricane center said. The area would face heavy rainfall and potential flooding on Friday, according to forecasts from Mexico’s National Water Commission.
Mexican authorities had moved some tourists and residents out of low-lying areas around the Yucatan peninsula prior to landfall, but tens of thousands remained to tough out the strong winds and expected storm surge. Much of the area around Tulum is just a few yards above sea level.
No deaths or wounded had been reported as of Friday morning, but 40% of Tulum’s electricity continued to be down, said Laura Velazquez, national coordinator of Mexican Civil Protection.
“Don’t go out yet, wait until the hurricane completely passes,” said Velazquez, speaking on a video in a morning press briefing.
Before the storm hit Tulum, outgoing President Andres Manuel López Obrador issued a statement saying Hurricane Beryl may make a direct hit on Tulum, which, while smaller than Cancun, still holds thousands of tourists and residents.
“It is recommendable that people get to higher ground, shelters or the homes of friends or family elsewhere,” he wrote. “Don’t hesitate, material possessions can be replaced.”
Earlier on Friday, the hurricane center said that Beryl weakened from a Category 3 to a strong Category 2 storm. But it cautioned that it carried a widespread risk.
“Preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion,” the center wrote.
US Embassy Advisory
Before the storm struck the Yucatan Peninsula, the U.S. Embassy in Mexico advised American citizens in the country that nearby airports have been impacted and that “travelers should verify their flight status with their airlines.”
“Monitor local media for updates, follow directions from local officials, and in case of emergency, call 911,” the embassy advisory said. “Be prepared to seek shelter.”
It added that “during and after the storm, keep loved ones advised of your location and well-being via phone, text and social media.”
NHC forecasters said the storm was expected to emerge over the southwestern Gulf of Mexico Friday night and then move northwestward toward northeastern Mexico and southern Texas by the end of the weekend.
As the storm moves inland in Mexico, the NHC added, a “slow re-intensification is expected once Beryl moves back over the Gulf of Mexico.”
On Friday morning, the NHC issued no hurricane watches for northeastern Mexico or southern Texas. Between 4 and 6 inches of rain are expected to fall in parts of southern Texas.
By Tuesday morning, the system is expected to weaken into a tropical storm as it moves north across Texas. By Wednesday morning, it’s expected to further weaken into a tropical depression as it crosses into central Texas.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
