The first hurricane of the season is heading toward storm-wracked Puerto Rico — and may make landfall there on Monday.
Forecasters believe that Hurricane Beryl will begin slowing down before it hits, though its governor, Ricardo Rossello, declared a state of emergency.
“Because of the small size of Beryl and anticipated weakening, widespread wind damage is not expected,” according to AccuWeather Meteorologist Jake Sojda.
It will probably be a just a tropical storm by the time it visits the island around Monday afternoon, experts said.
Still, it will carry “significant moisture” and may cause some local flooding, said AccuWeather’s chairman, Joel Myers.
“As we know, Puerto Rico was hard hit last year by Hurricanes Irma and then Maria, and the island is still recovering,” Myers said.
“Any heavy rainfall is capable of causing flash flooding,” given the island’s already damaged infrastructure, he said.
Power lines and property repairs that have been “jury-rigged” instead of properly fixed could fail and lead to power outages and home damage, Sojda said.