Hurricane Beryl heads for Cayman Islands as Category 4 storm

July 4 (UPI) -- Hurricane Beryl was heading for the Cayman Islands early Thursday, according to forecasters who are warning the British Territories that they are to be hit with strong winds, a dangerous storm surge and damaging waves.

Though weakening slightly overnight as it pulled away from Jamaica, Beryl was still a Category 4 storm with winds in excess of 125 mph, the National Hurricane Center said in its 2 a.m. EDT Thursday update.

The forecasters located Beryl in the Caribbean Sea about 110 miles southeast of Grand Cayman Island and 500 miles east-southeast of Tulum, Mexico.

It was continuing to move west-northwest at 21 mph.

The forecasters are saying Beryl is expected to pass just south of the Grand Cayman Island overnight "at or near major hurricane intensity."

Beryl is expected to continue to weaken Thursday morning but is forecast to remain a hurricane until it makes landfall on the Yucatan Peninsula.

Hurricane warnings were in effect for Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Little Cayman and Cayman Brac, as well as the Yucatan Coast from Puerto Costa Maya to Cancun.

Hurricane watches were also in effect for the Yucatan Coast south of Puerto Costa Maya to Chetumal, as well as north of Cancun to Cabo Catoche.

Forecasters warned Jamaica to expect "life-threatening flash flooding and mudslides" as Beryl is expected to produce between 4 and 8 inches of rainfall with up to 12 inches in certain areas across the Caribbean island nation through Thursday morning.

Beryl made landfall on Grenada's Carriacou Island in the Caribbean Sea with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph around 11 a.m. Tuesday. It is the strongest known hurricane to pass through the Grenadines, according to data from NOAA since 1851.

On Sunday, Beryl became the earliest Category 4 hurricane on record in the Atlantic and the only Category 4 storm ever recorded in June.

It then later became the earliest Category 5 storm in history before being downgraded to a Category 4 storm on Tuesday.

Only seven named storms have formed over the last 173 years in this sector of the Atlantic before July 4, according to Accuweather .

Meanwhile, Alberto , the first tropical storm of the season, made landfall over Mexico on June 20 and then pummeled Texas the next day with rain while Tropical Storm Chris, the third named storm of the season, made landfall in eastern Mexico late Sunday.