'Abbott Elementary' Star Details Hurricane Beryl Experience: 'Pray For Us'

Abbott Elementary star Sheryl Lee Ralph has shared details of her experience in Jamaica as the devastating Hurricane Beryl barrels toward the island.

The Category 4 storm, which has already left a trail of destruction on nearby islands and killed at least six people in the region, is expected to make landfall in Jamaica early Wednesday, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC).

Read more: Learn About Emergency Funds and Where to Keep Them

Ralph, who won an Emmy Award for her role as teacher Barbara Howard on ABC mockumentary Abbott Elementary, took to X, formerly Twitter, late Tuesday night to discuss the approaching storm, which earlier that day had peaked with winds of 165 mph.

"From the looks of the sky, it looks like Beryl is going to be here much sooner than the news keeps saying," said Ralph, 67, in a self-shot video clip that appeared to be taken on the veranda of a private residence.

Ralph, who is of Jamaican heritage and regularly spends time on the island, added: "It's very calm here in Jamaica. The sky is so beautifully clear and they said that the sea looked like glass today."

The actor and singer added that, as a precaution, "we had to take in all of the outside furniture because you know those things take flight."

Read more: How to Build an Emergency Fund

She then issued a warning to people in Jamaica: "I just wanted to say to everybody, please stay inside. There's a curfew starting at 6 a.m. ... Stay off the road in Kingston. I hope you've put oil in your lamp and are taking extra care."

"So to everybody that's here on [the] island, we remember that [1988's Hurricane] Gilbert was a 3 and Beryl is a 4. Wow. God bless you, goodnight," she concluded.

Captioning her post, Ralph—who is married to Senator Vincent Hughes, a Pennsylvania Democrat—wrote: "Good night from Jamaica. Pray for us as you pray for others."

Read more: Discover the Right Bank Account for Your Finances

Several minutes later, Ralph returned to the micro-blogging platform to share that she was unable to relax as nerves had gotten the better of her.

She commented: "Ok, I can't sleep! So I'm going to @netflix and chill out from hurricane nerves and binge #Supacell while I can."

The Moesha star's posts have garnered an outpouring of well wishes from X users.

In a public address on Tuesday, Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness issued a warning about Beryl, which is expected to bring life-threatening winds and storm surge on landfall. Residents in flood-prone areas have been warned by local officials to prepare for evacuation.

"I am encouraging all Jamaicans to take the hurricane as a serious threat," Holness said. "It is, however, not a time to panic."

In Miami, NHC director Michael Brennan has stated that Beryl appears on course to pass directly over Jamaica.

"We are most concerned about Jamaica, where we are expecting the core of a major hurricane to pass near or over the island," he said in an online briefing. "You want to be in a safe place where you can ride out the storm by nightfall [Tuesday]. Be prepared to stay in that location through Wednesday."

"This is a big hazard in the Caribbean, especially with the mountainous islands," Brennan added. "This could cause life threatening flash floods and mudslides in some of these areas."

Beryl is expected to reach Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula by late Thursday as a weaker Category 1 storm.

A storm of Beryl's initial strength, fueled by hot water in the Atlantic and Caribbean, comes uncommonly early for the season. Already before becoming the earliest Category 5 storm on record, Beryl had broken a record as the first-ever Category 4 storm in June, with winds of at least 130 mph.

It's only the second time on record that a Category 5 storm has been recorded in July, after Hurricane Emily on July 17, 2005, according to the NHC. Several studies have shown that climate change is expected to make extreme weather events like hurricanes more frequent and more severe as the planet warms up.