Beryl has officially become the earliest Category 5 hurricane on record in the Atlantic basin.

Hurricane Beryl upgraded to Category 5 strength at around 10 last night.

Meanwhile, the Hurricane Watch which was issued for Jamaica has been upgraded to a Hurricane Warning.

This as Hurricane Beryl moves quickly to the Central Caribbean.

This means that the dangerous effects of a hurricane are expected to affect Jamaica in 36 hours or less.

According to the Met Service, as at 4:00 A.M., The eye of Hurricane Beryl was located about 370 miles Southeast of Isla Beata in the Dominican Republic, or 695 miles East Southeast of Kingston, Jamaica.

Maximum sustained winds have increased to near 165 mph, with higher gusts.

Weakening should begin later today but Beryl is still expected to be near major hurricane intensity as it moves into the Central Caribbean and passes near Jamaica tomorrow and the Cayman Islands on Thursday.

Based on the current official forecast track, the eye of Hurricane Beryl is expected to be south of Hispaniola on Tuesday afternoon and evening before it moves just southeast of Jamaica on Wednesday morning, and then follows a path adjacent to the coastline throughout the rest of the day.

As the centre of Beryl moves closer to Jamaica, expect heavy rainfall to begin affecting the island early on Wednesday.

This would later be accompanied by possible hurricane force winds across the island, dangerous storm surges and battering waves along coastal areas of mainly southern parishes.