Tropical Storm Beryl Downgraded From a Hurricane

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Tropical Storm Beryl continues to move rapidly west through the Atlantic towards the Lesser Antilles over the weekend. Early Saturday the storm began to encounter wind shear which lowered the intensity from a hurricane to a tropical storm with wind speeds of 50 mph. As Beryl continues to move west the shear will increase so it is not expected to become a hurricane again before crossing over the island chain late Sunday and early Monday. Even as a tropical storm Beryl will still contain gusty downpours and impact an area that was devastated by Maria last year and has still yet to completely recover.

Moving through the Caribbean Monday and Tuesday the storm is expected to pass just south of Puerto Rico with the latest forecast range actually moving a little farther north. By the time it passes near the island it may only be a tropical depression with wind speeds about 35 mph. Even with a lower intensity there will still be considerable rain and brief strong wind gusts impacting an area still recovering from the 2017 Hurricane season. Heavy rain may cause flash flooding especially in the higher terrains of Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, and Haiti.

By the middle of the week the storm will dissipate but the remnants will pass over Cuba and bring more wide-spread showers and storms to South Florida by the end of the week and next weekend.