Hurricane Beryl dealt significant damage to island communities in the eastern Caribbean Monday and is on track to maintain much of its strength as it now moves toward Jamaica.
Beryl's winds were measured at 155 mph late on Monday, intensifying the storm to just two miles per hour short of Category 5 status.
“This is an extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation,” said the National Hurricane Center on Monday.
A hurricane warning was in effect for Jamaica as of Monday evening. The storm is expected to bring hurricane conditions to the island by Wednesday. A tropical storm warning was in effect for the coasts of the Dominican Republic and Haiti.
Storm surge of as much as four feet was expected in the affected parts of Jamaica, while parts of Hispaniola could see between one and three feet. The National Weather Service said as much as six inches of rain could fall across the Windward Islands through Monday evening.
The eye of Hurricane Beryl made landfall on Grenada’s Carriacou Island Monday morning, where it ripped off roofs and damaged utility and communications systems in the region, leaving residents unable to take complete stock of the impacts.
No deaths or injuries were immediately reported.
Related story: Hurricane Beryl brings 'devastation' to Caribbean islands, cutting off power and communications
Hurricane Beryl is expected to weaken some as it moves through the central Caribbean, but the National Hurricane Center said it believes the storm will maintain its hurricane status as it heads toward the Yucatán Peninsula and Mexico on Thursday.
According to The Associated Press, the last strong hurricane to hit the southeastern Caribbean islands was Hurricane Ivan, which killed dozens of people in Grenada 20 years ago.
Beryl is the first Atlantic hurricane of the season and has drawn on the fuel of warm ocean waters to become the earliest Category 4 hurricane on record.
Watch below: International Space Station flies over Hurricane Beryl
