Hurricane Beryl became a potentially catastrophic category 5 storm on Monday night.

A Hurricane Warning was posted for Jamaica. The National Hurricane Center said it was expected to bring life-threatening winds and storm surge to Jamaica later this week and cause other dangerous conditions across the Eastern Caribbean.

The storm was about 270 miles east/southeast of the Dominican Republic on Tuesday morning and was moving about 22 miles per hour.

Hurricane Beryl Targets Jamaica

By 5 a.m. Tuesday, Maximum sustained winds were measured at 165 mph with higher gusts. Beryl was forecast to move quickly across the southeastern and central Caribbean Sea through Tuesday and is forecast to pass near Jamaica on Wednesday.

Forecasters say fluctuations in strength are likely during the next day or so, but Beryl is expected to still be near major hurricane intensity as its moves into the central Caribbean and passes near Jamaica on Wednesday.

Hurricane Beryl is expected to produce rainfall totals of 4 to 8 inches, with localized amounts up to 12 inches, in portions of Jamaica on Wednesday.

Some more weakening is expected thereafter, though Beryl is forecast to remain a hurricane in the northwestern Caribbean.