Belize spared as Beryl strikes Yucatan; last-minute turn took worst effects away from Corozal

By Aaron Humes: Now-Tropical Storm Beryl is on its way across the Yucatan Peninsula, headed toward the Gulf of Mexico this weekend. It made landfall early Friday morning near Tulum, Mexico, as a Category 2 with winds of 110 miles per hour.

But Chief Meteorologist Ronald Gordon of the National Meteorological Service judged Belize the recipient of a last-minute stroke of luck that spared the north of the country, particularly, from the worst effects: “The highest wind gust was 34 miles per hour recorded in the north at Ranchito…in terms of rainfall totals in a 24-hour [accumulation period] we had one to two inches…So certainly, the impact from this system was very minimal which was one of the probabilities that we indicated, minimal to moderate potential impacts. One thing that I want to mention in terms of the track, the forecasted track for the hurricane was north of what was the most probable path by about 70 miles or less and that certainly was very helpful for us. We are certain that if the hurricane had made landfall near Punta Allen, then certainly tropical storm force winds would extended 70 miles further south and may have affected the extreme north that we had indicated. But in this particular case, there was a shift more to the north at the very end that certainly helped in ensuring that we were okay.”

There is a bit of a break in the weather, with some showers expected from an approaching tropical wave this weekend as Gordon explains: “We do maintain a small craft caution because winds will become gusty especially after persons operate small vessels, we advise them to be very cautious. We are open, it is all clear, but certainly, we need to take heed and ensure we take precautions against anything out there. In terms of the weather conditions, we expect continued showers as I said before. There is another tropical wave coming in behind Beryl that we were monitoring previously. That system no longer has a chance of becoming a tropical cyclone, but certainly it will produce some more rain over the weekend. We are not out of the rainy season so expect more rains and we will keep monitoring and operating. And of course, as you all know we forecasted and expect a very busy Atlantic basin season so certainly it is possible that we may see another threat before the season is over. We take lessons learned from this system to ensure we are better prepared in every way possible.”

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