Meteorologists Sound Alarm as Hurricane Beryl Strengthens En Route to US

Weather experts are voicing concerns about the forecast track of Hurricane Beryl as the storm nears the United States.

Beryl strengthened into a hurricane last Saturday, becoming June's easternmost major hurricane in the Atlantic. The storm underwent rapid intensification and became a Category 4 hurricane as soon as its wind speeds reached 130 miles per hour. It has killed at least nine people, according to The Associated Press.

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The system temporarily weakened to a Category 3 before strengthening again, with maximum winds documented at 150 mph when it made landfall in the Windward Islands on Monday morning.

At one point, Hurricane Beryl was categorized as a Category 5, but it has since weakened again to a Category 2, with wind speeds at 110 mph as of Friday morning, when the storm made landfall near Tulum, Mexico.

Although the storm has weakened, some meteorologists are still concerned it could strengthen again once it exits Mexico and aims at the U.S. this weekend.

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"Welp... Beryl is strengthening once again. Hurricane Hunters sampling pressure that is dropping rather quickly. It will weaken over the Yucatán after landfall, but this unexpected strengthening means a stronger Beryl will move into the Gulf on Friday," CBS Austin meteorologist Avery Tomasco posted on X, formerly Twitter, on Thursday night.

Hurricane Beryl also strengthened unexpectedly when its northern eyewall, a ring of thunderstorms that produce heavy rains and typically the strongest winds, hit Jamaica on Wednesday.

In a follow-up post, Tomasco shared a forecast that anticipated the hurricane would hit the Texas coastline as at least a Category 1 storm by early Monday morning.

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The Weather Channel also shared a forecast for the storm's impacts in Texas, with impacts affecting Brownsville, Corpus Christi, Houston, Waco and San Antonio.

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) forecast shows tropical storm-force winds arriving in Texas overnight on Sunday. Newsweek reached out to the NHC by email for comment.

A tropical storm warning was in place in the Gulf just south of Texas as of Friday morning, according to the National Weather Service (NWS)

"There is an increasing risk of strong winds, storm surge, and heavy rainfall in portions of northeastern Mexico and southern Texas late this weekend," the NHC forecast said. "Interests in these areas should closely monitor the progress of Beryl and updates to the forecast. Hurricane and Tropical Storm Watches will likely be issued later today."

In addition to the storm's impacts, deadly rip currents are expected to begin along the Texas coast later on Friday. They will continue throughout much of the weekend.