Beryl became a hurricane on Saturday. As it stirs The hurricane is heading toward the southeastern Caribbean, where forecasters have warned it could strengthen into a “dangerous major hurricane” before reaching Barbados and the Windward Islands late Sunday or early Monday, according to the National Hurricane Center.
The major hurricanes are Category 3 and abovewith sustained winds of at least 111 mph. As of now, Beryl is a Category 1 hurricane.
Beryl was located about 595 miles southeast of Barbados on Saturday night, with maximum sustained winds of 85 mph, and was moving west at 20 mph, according to the hurricane center.
“It is expected to strengthen rapidly over the next day or so,” the hurricane center said.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Sabu Best, the island’s meteorological director, said the centre of Beryl was forecast to pass about 26 miles south of Barbados.
A hurricane warning was issued for Barbados, Saint Lucia, Grenada, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, a tropical storm warning was issued for Martinique and Tobago, and a tropical storm watch was issued for Dominica. All islands except Barbados are part of the Windward Islands.
The hurricane center said “life-threatening strong winds and storm surge” were possible in the Windward Islands starting Sunday night.
It’s been more than 50 years since a hurricane formed in the Atlantic Basin before the Fourth of July. Alma struck the Florida Keys on June 8, 1966, according to the Weather Underground.
“Surprising to see a major hurricane forecasted anywhere in the Atlantic in June, let alone this far east in the tropics. #Beryl is rapidly intensifying in the warmest waters on record for late June,” Florida-based hurricane expert Michael Lawrie wrote on social media.
Beryl is the second named storm in what is expected to be a busy part of the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to November 30. Last week, Tropical Storm Alberto bring up Severe flooding has hit parts of southern Texas and northeastern Mexico, killing at least four people in the Mexican states of Nuevo Leon and Veracruz.
Beryl was the easternmost hurricane to form in June and one of only two to form east of the Caribbean – the other was in 1933, CBS News weather producer David Parkinson said.
Parkinson expects Beryl to remain south of Jamaica and doesn’t expect any impacts on the United States until at least eight days later.
Warmer waters are powering the beryl, with ocean heat content in the deep Atlantic reaching its highest level ever recorded for this time of year, according to Brian McNoldy, a tropical meteorologist at the University of Miami.
Beryl was also the strongest June tropical storm ever recorded east of the tropical Atlantic, Klotzbach said.
“We need to be prepared,” Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley said in a speech late Friday. “You and I know that when these things happen it’s best to plan for the worst and pray for the best.”
She noted that thousands of people had gathered in Barbados on Saturday. Twenty20 World Cup Cricket FinalOn Saturday, India defeated South Africa in the capital Bridgetown in what is considered the biggest event in the world of cricket.
Some fans, like Shashank Musk, a 33-year-old doctor from Pittsburgh, rushed to change flights to get out before the storm hit.
Musk has never been through a hurricane: “I’m not going to get in a hurricane either.”
He and his wife, who were rooting for India, found out about Beryl thanks to a taxi driver who told them about the storm.
Meanwhile, St. Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves said in a speech on Saturday that evacuation centres would open on Sunday evening and urged citizens to prepare. He ordered staff to refuel government vehicles and asked grocery stores and gas stations to extend their opening hours ahead of the storm.
“If we limit our opening hours, we will be faced with huge crowds,” he said, apologizing in advance for the disruption to government radio broadcasts giving storm updates. “We ask that all cricket lovers be patient with us having to keep you informed. This is a matter of life and death.”
Beryl is the second storm to be named in what is expected to be a prolific Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30. Earlier this month, Tropical Storm Alberto made landfall in northeastern Mexico, bringing heavy rains and leaving four people dead.
Rowley noted that there have only been five named storms on record in the tropical Atlantic Ocean in the eastern Caribbean, and of those, only one hurricane on record formed in the eastern Caribbean in June.
In a phone interview, Barbados hostel manager Mark Spence said he was calm about the approaching storm.
“It’s the season now. You never know when a storm is going to hit,” he said. “I’m always prepared. I always have enough food in the house.”
The storm is approaching the southeastern Caribbean just days after the twin-island nation of Trinidad and Tobago reported extensive flooding in the capital, Port of Spain, as a result of an unrelated weather event.
Meanwhile, an unnamed storm that formed in early June dumped more than 20 inches of rain on parts of South Florida, trapping many drivers in flooded roads and inundating some homes in low-lying areas.
It is unusual for Beryl to reach hurricane strength, as the first hurricane of the season usually forms in early to mid-August, according to the National Hurricane Center. report In a forecast released last month, NOAA predicted this year’s hurricane season would be “more intense than normal,” with 17 to 25 storms, eight to 13 hurricanes, and four to seven major hurricanes of Category 3 or higher.
A tropical storm is a tropical depression with maximum wind speeds of 39 to 73 mph, while a hurricane is To be defined It is classified as a tropical cyclone with maximum sustained winds exceeding 74 mph.
