Hurricane Beryl update

The overwhelming majority of forecasts for the storm season in the North Atlantic projected an active season with an above average number of named storms and hurricanes. 

The windstorm season is generally considered to run from the beginning of June until the end of November. Storms outside this period have been recorded. 

Hurricane Beryl is the first major storm of the 2024 season. Beryl has proved to be both a long lived storm and an exceptionally strong one. Formed on 28 June, it intensified rapidly as it moved through the mid-Atlantic, becoming the earliest recorded Category Five storm, with sustained speeds of 165mph (270km/h). It has so far caused catastrophic damage across Barbados, the Windward Islands, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela, Jamaica, the Caymans before striking Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula as a category two storm with sustained winds of 108 mph (175km/h). Although major damage in Mexico has not been reported, there was heavy rain and power outages in tourist areas including Cancun and Tulum. 

Hurricanes quickly lose power as they pass across land, although they can regain power once they are over warmer water. This has been the case for Beryl, slowing to a tropical storm over Mexico before strengthening to category one windstorm in the Gulf of Mexico. It has now made landfall in  Texas. Windspeeds are much diminished, although still reaching 87mph (140km/h) but the storm is bringing very heavy rain to suburbs of Houston. Some areas have experienced more than 15 inches (40 cms) of rain. We will have some indications of the likely impacts on the syndicates over the coming weeks. For losses in the Caribbean and in Mexico, there is a large insurance gap, with only a minority of business and individuals buying insurance for this type of event. While insurance penetration is higher in Texas, the lower windspeeds suggest that this will not be a significant loss. Forecasters are predicting more storms in the coming few weeks.