CANCUN/TULUM: Tropical Storm Beryl swept through the Gulf of Mexico on Friday afternoon and appeared likely to reach Texas late Sunday after its strong winds and heavy rain largely spared Mexico’s top beach destinations.
Downgraded from a hurricane, the storm’s core crossed the Yucatan Peninsula on Friday afternoon, with maximum winds slowing to around 105 km/h after an early morning strike near the coastal beach resort of Tulum.
As of Saturday morning, Beryl was about 460 miles southeast of Corpus Christi with maximum sustained winds around 60 mph, the National Hurricane Center said. Parts of the Lone Star State are under a hurricane watch and the storm is expected to strengthen between Sunday and Monday.
“There is an increasing risk of a life-threatening storm surge along the Texas coast,” forecasters warned.
The storm, which at one point strengthened into a powerful Category 5 hurricane, left a deadly trail of destruction in the Caribbean earlier this week. However, there were no casualties in Mexico, Laura Velazquez, head of the country’s civil protection office, said at a press conference on Friday afternoon.
While Beryl’s passage over Mexico’s Quintana Roo and the Yucatan states resulted in slower winds, the US National Hurricane Center is still forecasting dangerous storm surges nearby.
A sense of relief prevailed among those who crouched as Beryl shivered overhead.
“It was really just some plants flying into the air,” he said. “Thank God we’re all okay.
The tourism infrastructure was without major damage in Quintana Roo, the state government said in a statement.
Still, much of the area lost power, including 40% of Tulum, Guillermo Nevarez, an official with Mexico’s national energy company CFE, said in an interview with local TV station Milenio.
Civil Defense Chief Velazquez said she expected service to be fully restored by Sunday.
The Yucatan Peninsula is among Mexico’s top tourist destinations and is known for its white sand beaches, lush landscapes and Mayan ruins.
Stranded tourists camped out at Cancun International Airport on Friday, unsure when they would get home.
Nora Vento said her flight home to Chile was delayed several times and that her airline’s counter was unstaffed.
“So I don’t know when I’ll get to Chile,” she said.
Beryl, currently over the port of Progreso in the Mexican state of Yucatan, was expected to gain strength as it entered the Gulf of Mexico and was forecast to regain hurricane status on Sunday and approach the western Gulf Coast.
A hurricane watch was in effect for the Texas coast from the mouth of the Rio Grande north to Sargent, according to the US National Hurricane Center (NHC).
Weather Service The Weather Service has issued a hurricane watch for the northeast coast of Mexico from Barra el Mezquital to the mouth of the Rio Grande.
It warned that flash and urban flooding is possible for parts of the Texas Gulf Coast and East Texas from Sunday through the middle of next week.
Rainfall amounts of 5 to 10 inches, with localized amounts of 15 inches, are projected across parts of the Texas Gulf Coast and East Texas Sunday through the middle of next week.
Mexico’s National Water Commission, CONAGUA, has warned of the risk of flooding around tourist centers and also in the neighboring state of Campeche.
Beryl was the first hurricane of the 2024 Atlantic season and this week became the first Category 5 hurricane on record, with scientists pointing to its rapid intensification almost certainly driven by human-induced climate change.
Beryl wreaked havoc on several Caribbean islands before reaching Mexico. It swept through Jamaica, Grenada, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and in addition unleashed heavy rainfall in the north of Venezuela. It claimed at least 11 lives, tore down buildings and felled power lines and trees.
The devastation on the islands of Grenada was particularly pronounced.
Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell pointed to extensive damage to homes in Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique during a video briefing Thursday night. Parts of the latter two islands suffered “almost total devastation,” he said.
“Many of our citizens have lost everything.”
Mexico’s main oil rigs, located primarily on the southern edge of the Gulf of Mexico, are not expected to be affected or shut down.
Research by the ClimaMeter Consortium found that climate change has significantly intensified Beryl. According to the study, storm intensity, along with associated rainfall and wind speed, has increased by 10-30% as a direct result of climate change.
