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, this season’s first hurricane, is expected to bring “strong winds and life-threatening storm surge” to the Windward Islands, southeast Puerto Rico and northern Venezuela as the storm continues to move. moving west, the National Hurricane Center said on 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 under a hurricane watch, including St. Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada. The islands of Martinique, Dominica and Tobago are under a tropical storm watch.
A hurricane warning means that a hurricane is expected in the designated area within 36 hours and people should complete all hurricane preparations, including evacuating if directed by local officials. 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 the previous severe winds likely to reach the capital Kingstown by 8am local time.
Some computer weather models show the storm could strengthen into a major hurricane, meaning a Category 3 storm or higher.
According to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration records, only three hurricanes have reached Category 3 status 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 when its sustained winds reached 39 mph. At 74 mph, a storm becomes a hurricane.
A named storm this far east in the Atlantic is unusual for June, National Hurricane Center forecaster John Cangialosi wrote in an advisory Friday.
“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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Waves generated by Beryl are expected to reach the Windward Islands and southern Leeward Islands late Sunday and are likely to cause life-threatening rip currents and rip currents, forecasters said.
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The storm is expected to pass through the eastern Caribbean islands as early as Sunday evening before moving across the central Caribbean Sea through mid-week.
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Three to six inches of rain, hurricane-force winds and dangerous storm surge are possible in the Eastern Caribbean Islands, including Barbados, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines from Sunday into 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 There are expected to be 17 to 25 named storms this year., an “above normal” number and a prediction consistent with more than a dozen forecasts earlier this year from experts at universities, private companies and government agencies.
On average, hurricane seasons produce 14 named storms.
The seasonal hurricane outlook is especially positive because forecasters looking at the beginning of the season see a combination of circumstances that do not exist in records dating back to the mid-1800s: record warm water temperatures continent in the Atlantic and the potential for 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 it is strong, it often brings a calm environment to the Atlantic Ocean. This allows storms to develop more easily and intensify without being hindered by wind patterns that can prevent them from organizing.
John YoonAnd John Keefe Contribute report.
