Hurricane Beryl has weakened to a Category 3 storm on Thursday, but not before leaving flooding and widespread damage on the island of Jamaica late Wednesday.
Beryl’s center passed just 45 miles south of Kingston, Jamaica, as a Category 4 hurricane with winds of 140 mph.
Beryl was the first major hurricane — at least a Category 3 — to pass this close to Jamaica since 2007.
By Thursday morning, Beryl had weakened to Category 3 hurricane with winds of 120 mph, as it approaches the Cayman Islands.
The hurricane should pass just south of the Cayman Islands Thursday morning, bringing hurricane-force winds and storm surge that could produce a water rise of 4 to 6 feet as well as half a foot of rain.
The next landfall for Beryl will likely be on Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, where major resorts such as Cancun, Playa De Carmen and Tulum are under hurricane warnings.