What comes after Jamaica for Beryl?
![Loading Image...]()
*The main near term concern is for the folks in Jamaica and the Caymans.
*Beyond that, the forecast is contingent on a number of factors.
*Over the last 48 hours, we've seen a slight northward shift in Beryl's forecast track as it comes west.
*This has implications for the Yucatan and perhaps the Gulf as well.
Why is Beryl trending more north?
*For one, exploding into a category 5 storm allows it to gain some added latitude.
*Secondly, the U.S. pattern has changed somewhat. If you look at how the European ensemble's 6 to 10 day forecast has changed in the last 48 hours, the tendency has been for the trough over the Central U.S. to strengthen, thus weakening the ridge of high pressure in the South.
But there's a lot of nuance to this.
â— For one, if Beryl does weaken as expected, this would have only a modest impact on the final track, keeping it south across the Yucatan and into Mexico.
â— If Beryl does stay stronger than forecast or somehow intensifies as it comes west into the Gulf, it would be more apt to "feel" the stronger trough and come north.
*You can see this in the Euro ensemble where stronger outcomes are mostly skewed north and weaker outcomes are mostly skewed south.
![Loading Image...]()
*There's a reason we have been apt to not speculate on what would happen to Beryl as it came west, rather trying to focus on what would impact Beryl. *These changes offer a wrinkle.
*Should you worry on the Texas or Louisiana coasts? No, but you'll want to keep an eye on this.
*For one, there seems to be a fair bit of support for somewhat hostile upper air conditions in the Gulf when Beryl arrives, so there's no guarantee this will just explode when it gets there.
*That said, we're operating in a very odd world right now.
*Gulf of Mexico water temps have drifted under record levels thankfully, but it's still warmer than normal overall.
*I don't want to overpromise anything at this point. The best we can tell people to do is continue watching.
*If Beryl makes it to the northern Mexico, Texas, or Louisiana coasts, the impacts would probably begin late Saturday night or Sunday.