Beryl strengthened to a hurricane on Saturday as it headed toward the southeastern Caribbean, with forecasters warning that it is expected to become a dangerous major storm before reaching Barbados late Sunday or early Monday.
A major hurricane is considered Category 3 or higher, with winds of at least 111 mph (178 km/h). As of midday Saturday, Beryl was a Category 1 hurricane, marking the most easterly hurricane to form in the tropical Atlantic in June, breaking a record set in 1933, according to Colorado State University hurricane researcher Philip Klotzbach.
A hurricane warning was issued for Barbados and a hurricane watch was in effect for Saint Lucia, Grenada and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. A tropical storm watch has been issued for Martinique, Dominica and Tobago.
“Stunning to see a forecast for a major hurricane (category 3+) in June anywhere in the Atlantic, let alone this far east in the deep tropics. #Beryl is rapidly organizing over the warmest waters on record for the end of June.” Florida-based hurricane expert Michael Lowry posted on X.
Beryl’s center was forecast to pass about 26 miles (45 kilometers) south of Barbados, said Sabu Best, director of the island’s weather service. Forecasters then expected the storm to cross the Caribbean on a path toward Jamaica and eventually Mexico.
By late Saturday afternoon, Beryl was centered about 720 miles (1,160 kilometers) east-southeast of Barbados, with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph (120 km/h). It was moving west at 22 mph (35 km/h).
“Rapid strengthening is now forecast,” the Miami-based US National Hurricane Center said.
Atmospheric science researcher Tomer Burg noted that Beryl was just a tropical depression with 35 mph winds on Friday.
“This means that according to preliminary data, Beryl already met the criteria for rapid intensification before it even became a hurricane,” he wrote on social media platform X.
Warm waters fueled the Beryl, with deep-Atlantic ocean heat content the highest on record for this time of year, according to Brian McNoldy, a tropical meteorology researcher at the University of Miami.
Beryl is also the strongest June tropical storm on record this far east in the tropical Atlantic, according to Klotzbach.
“We have to be ready,” Barbados Prime Minister Mia Motley said in a public address late Friday. “You and I know that when these things happen, it’s best to plan for the worst and pray for the best.”
He noted that thousands of people are in Barbados for the Twenty20 cricket World Cup final, with India beating South Africa on Saturday in the capital Bridgetown. It is considered the biggest event of cricket.
Some fans, like Shashank Musku, a 33-year-old doctor who lives in Pittsburgh, rushed to change their flight to get out before the storm.
Musku said by phone that he has never experienced a hurricane: “I don’t plan on being in one either.”
He and his wife, who were passionate about India, learned about Beryl thanks to a taxi driver who reported the storm.
St. Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves said in a public address Saturday that shelters would open Sunday night and urged people to prepare. He ordered officials to refuel government vehicles and asked grocery stores and gas stations to stay open later ahead of the storm.
“There’s going to be such a rush … if you keep limited hours,” he said as he apologized in advance for government shutdowns of radio stations with storm updates. “Cricket fans have to bear with us that we will have to give information… this is life and death.”
Beryl is the second named storm in what is forecast to be a busy hurricane season from June 1 to November 30 in the Atlantic. Earlier this month, Tropical Storm Alberto made landfall in northeastern Mexico with heavy rains that killed four people.
Lowry noted that in records dating back to 1851, only five named storms had ever formed in June in the tropical Atlantic east of the Caribbean, and only one was a hurricane. He said one was the first hurricane of 1933, the most active hurricane season on record.
Mark Spence, manager of a guest house in Barbados, said by phone that he was calm about the approaching storm.
“Tis the season. You can get a storm at any time,” he said. “I’m always prepared. I always have enough food in my house.”
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts that the 2024 hurricane season is likely to be well above average, with 17 to 25 named storms. The forecast calls for up to 13 hurricanes and four major hurricanes.
An average Atlantic hurricane season produces 14 named storms, seven of them hurricanes and three major hurricanes.
Beryl was expected to dump up to six inches (15 cm) of rain on Barbados and nearby islands, and a wave warning of up to 13 feet (4 meters) was in effect. A storm surge of up to seven feet (2 meters) was also forecast.
The storm is approaching the southeastern Caribbean days after the twin nation of Trinidad and Tobago experienced major flooding in the capital Port-of-Spain as a result of an unrelated weather phenomenon.
Caribbean leaders are not just worried about Beryl, but also a cluster of storms closely following Beryl’s path that had a 70% chance of becoming a tropical depression by the middle of next week.
Meanwhile, an unnamed storm earlier this June dumped more than 20 inches (50 cm) of rain on parts of South Florida, stranding many motorists on flooded roads and pushing water into some homes in low-lying areas.
