Tropical storm Beryl hit open waters today, Tuesday, as a fierce Category 5 hurricane on a path that will take it near Jamaica and the Cayman Islands after making landfall earlier in the southeast Caribbean, resulting in at least two fatalities.

A hurricane warning is in effect for Jamaica, with hurricane watch in Grand Cayman, Little Cayman, and Cayman Brac. Beryl is expected to begin losing strength on Tuesday, but it is still approaching major hurricane status as it passes near Jamaica on Wednesday, the Cayman Islands on Thursday, and the Mexican Yucatan Peninsula on Friday, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Beryl is the earliest Category 5 storm ever to form in the Atlantic, fueled by unusually warm waters.

Early Tuesday, the storm was located about 370 miles (595 kilometers) southeast of Isla Beata in the Dominican Republic. Maximum sustained winds were at 165 miles per hour (270 km/h) and it was moving from west to northwest at 22 miles per hour (35 km/h).

The National Hurricane Center stated, "Beryl remains an impressive Category 5 hurricane."

A tropical storm warning has been issued for the entire southern coast of Hispaniola, an island shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

As the storm moves across the Caribbean Sea, rescue teams have spread throughout the region in southeastern Caribbean to assess the damage caused by Hurricane Beryl after it made landfall on Carriacou, an island in Grenada, as a Category 4 storm.

Officials reported one fatality in Grenada and another in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

An emergency team is expected to travel to Carriacou on Tuesday morning.

Grenada's Prime Minister Deacon Mitchell stated, "The situation requires our immediate attention, and all efforts must be made to support our sister islands."

Meanwhile, Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, pledged to rebuild the archipelago in a statement made early Tuesday. He noted that 90% of the homes on Union Island were destroyed, and "similar levels of destruction" are expected on the islands of Mayreau and Canouan.

The last major hurricane to strike the southeast Caribbean was Hurricane Ivan 20 years ago, which resulted in dozens of fatalities in Grenada.

Beryl has broken several records, including marking the furthest east a tropical storm has formed in the Atlantic in June, according to Philip Klotzbach, a hurricane researcher at Colorado State University.

The storm intensified from a tropical depression to a major hurricane in just 42 hours, a feat accomplished by only six other hurricanes in the Atlantic, and it hasn't happened before September, according to hurricane expert Sam Lillo.

Beryl is the second storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to November 30. Earlier this month, tropical storm Alberto made landfall in northeastern Mexico, killing four people.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts that the 2024 hurricane season will be well above average, with between 17 and 25 named storms. The forecasts call for as many as 13 hurricanes and four major hurricanes.

The average Atlantic hurricane season produces 14 named storms, seven of which are hurricanes, and three of which are major hurricanes.