Cat. 3 Hurricane Beryl heads toward Cayman Islands, Mexico

Hurricane Beryl, which has wreaked havoc across Jamaica with damaging winds and heavy rain, left at least 11 people dead across the region. Now, the storm maintains its strength as it barrels past the Cayman Islands and heads toward Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula.

According to the National Hurricane Center’s 11 a.m. update, the center of Beryl is expected to move past the Cayman Islands on Thursday afternoon, bringing “strong winds, dangerous storm surge, and damaging waves” to the Yucatan Peninsula’s coast early Friday. The hurricane, downgraded to a Category 3 early Thursday, had winds of 115 mph when it was about 95 miles west-southwest of Grand Cayman.

The Cayman Islands can expect up to six inches of rain on Thursday, while the Yucatan Peninsula could see up to 10 inches, potentially causing flash flooding.