Hurricane Beryl remains strong, major hurricane in Caribbean

Hurricane Beryl remains a major hurricane as of Friday morning as it tracks southwest of the Cayman Islands heading through the central Caribbean.

The late Friday morning update from the National Hurricane Center has Hurricane Beryl as a Category 3 hurricane with sustained winds of 115 MPH and gusts up to 140 MPH.

Hurricane Beryl is expected to weaken in the coming days as it makes landfall and moves over the Yucatan Peninsula early Friday morning.

Beryl is then expected to emerge in the southwestern Gulf of Mexico on Friday night as a tropical storm and move northwest.

It’s possible Beryl may gain strength and become a hurricane once again before making landfall either over northeast Mexico or far southeast Texas early next week.

Over the Yucatan Peninsula, Beryl is expected to produce rainfall totals of 4 to 6″, with localized amounts of 10″.

Storm surge could raise water levels by as much as 3 to 5′ above ground level in areas of onshore winds along the east coast of the Yucatan Peninsula and by as much as 1 to 3′ above ground level along the west coast of the Yucatan Peninsula.