Tropical Storm Beryl officially became Hurricane Beryl on Saturday afternoonhas strengthened since forming late Friday night and reached sustained winds of 75 mph, with higher gusts.
Hurricane Beryl, the first storm of the season, is expected to bring “life-threatening winds and storm surge” to the Windward Islands, southeast of Puerto Rico and northern Venezuela, as it continues to move west, the National Hurricane Center said Saturday.
Forecasters said winds could be up to 30 percent stronger in high areas of the islands.
A hurricane warning has been issued for Barbados and several other Caribbean islands are on hurricane watch, including St. Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada. The islands of Martinique, Dominica and Tobago are in the tropical storm watch zone.
A hurricane warning means that a hurricane is expected in the designated area within 36 hours and residents should complete all hurricane preparations, including evacuating if directed by local officials. ONE watch out for storms indicates that storm conditions are possible within 48 hours and residents should prepare to take action.
Forecasters predict Beryl will hit Saint Vincent and the Grenadines on Monday, with previous severe winds likely to reach the capital Kingstown at 8am local time.
Some computer weather models show the storm could strengthen into a major hurricane, which is a Category 3 storm or higher.
According to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration records, only three hurricanes have reached Category 3 strength in the North Atlantic this early in the season: Alma in 1966, Audrey in 1957 and an unnamed storm in 1916.
All made landfall on the United States coast in the Gulf of Mexico: Alma near St. Marks, Fla.; Audrey near Port Arthur, Texas, and the 1916 hurricane near Mobile, Ala.
The system became Tropical Storm Beryl late Friday with sustained winds of 39 mph. At 74 mph, a storm becomes a hurricane.
John Cangialosi, a forecaster with the National Hurricane Center, wrote in a statement Friday that it was unusual for a named storm to appear so far in the eastern Atlantic in June.
“Only a few hurricanes in history have formed over the central or eastern tropical Atlantic earlier this year,” he wrote.
Here are some important things to know about the storm.
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Large waves generated by Hurricane Beryl are expected to hit the Windward Islands and southern Leeward late Sunday and are likely to cause threatening surf and rip currents, forecasters said. live.
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The storm is expected to pass through the eastern Caribbean islands as early as Sunday night before moving across the central Caribbean by midweek.
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Three to six inches of rain, hurricane-force winds and dangerous storm surges are possible in the eastern Caribbean Islands, including Barbados, St. Vincent and the Grenadines from Sunday through Monday.
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There is a fair amount of uncertainty in the forecast for the storm’s path, especially after three days.
This hurricane season is expected to be busy.
Forecasters have warned that the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season could be much more active than usual.
In late May, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Between 17 and 25 named storms are expected this year, a “higher than normal” number and one that is in line with more than a dozen forecasts earlier in the year from experts at universities, private companies and government agencies.
On average, hurricane seasons produce 14 named storms.
The seasonal hurricane outlook is particularly grim because forecasters looking early in the season are seeing a combination of circumstances not seen since the mid-1800s: record-warm water temperatures in the Atlantic and the potential for hurricanes to form in a weather pattern known as La Niña.
La Niña occurs in the Pacific Ocean due to changes in ocean temperatures and affects weather patterns globally.
When strong, it often creates a calm environment in the Atlantic. This allows hurricanes to develop more easily and become stronger without being affected by wind patterns that can prevent them from organizing.
John YoonAnd John Keefe Report contributions.
