As of Wednesday evening, Beryl remains at Category 4 criteria, with winds now at 130 mph as it starts its push away from Jamaica, still passing near the southwest corner of the island.
Beryl is expected to continue weakening as it moves west and is expected to become a Category 3 overnight while passing south of the Cayman Islands.
While still being a major hurricane, Beryl’s winds are forecasted to drop to 120 mph into Thursday.
Hurricane Beryl churned menacingly over Jamaica after uprooting trees, ripping off roofs and destroying farms as it forged a destructive, water-soaked path across smaller Caribbean islands over the past couple days.
Footage captured from a balcony on the Hilton Rose Hall, just east of Montego Bay, shows strong winds and heavy rain battering palm trees unrelentingly.
On Tuesday night, as the storm barreled toward Jamaica, the country’s prime minister, Andrew Holness, preemptively declared the entire island a disaster area in an address to the public Tuesday night.
Although the cyclone lost some steam as it closed in on Jamaica, it had already caused six deaths in the Caribbean.
Beryl was downgraded to a Category 4 from a Category 5, but its maximum sustained winds remained dangerous at 140 mph Wednesday afternoon, according to the National Hurricane Center. A hurricane warning was issued for Jamaica and the Cayman Islands.
In anticipation of the storm, Jamaican officials shuttered three airports on Tuesday. They will stay closed through Wednesday, and reopening will be announced pending post-storm assessments.
Beryl was forecast to pass just south of the Cayman Islands overnight at or near major hurricane strength and still be a hurricane when it reaches Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula late Thursday or early Friday, according to the hurricane center.
Major hurricane strength is defined as a Category 3 hurricane or higher, which means maximum sustained winds of at least 111 mph, while a hurricane has maximum winds of at least 74 mph.
Jamaica’s hurricane warning was ended Thursday but a warning was is in effect for the Cayman Islands and coastal Mexican Yucatan from Puerto Costa Maya to Cancun, including Cozumel.
A Hurricane watch was posted  for coastal Mexican Yucatan south of Puerto Costa Maya to Chetumal and north of Cancun to Cabo Catoche.
Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness said Wednesday evening that Jamaica his island nation hadn’t seen the “worst of what could possibly happen.”
“We can do as much as we can do, as humanly possible, and we leave the rest in the hands of God,” Holness said.
