Tropical Storm Beryl is moving toward the southeastern Caribbean on Saturday and could strengthen into this year’s first hurricane before reaching Barbados late Sunday.
A hurricane watch was issued for Barbados, and the island’s weather service warned of sudden flooding and power outages, saying the center of the storm was forecast to pass about 26 miles (45 kilometers) south of the island.
Early Saturday morning, Beryl was located about 975 miles (1,570 kilometers) east-southeast of Barbados, with maximum sustained winds of 50 miles (80 kilometers) per hour. Beryl was moving west at 21 miles (33 kilometers) per hour.
“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 are in Barbados to watch the Twenty20 World Cup cricket final between India and South Africa in the capital, Bridgetown, on Saturday.
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 Heavy flooding has caused major flooding in parts of southern Texas and northeastern Mexico, and at least four people have been killed in the Mexican states of Nuevo Leon and Veracruz, according to the Associated Press.
“Tropical storm formation this eastern of the tropical Atlantic is unusual but not unprecedented,” Florida-based hurricane expert Michael Lawrie said in the forecast. “Only five named storms on record have ever formed in the tropical Atlantic eastern Caribbean.”
Of those, only one record-breaking hurricane occurred in the eastern Caribbean in June, he added.
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.”
Beryl is expected to dump up to six inches (15 centimeters) of rain on Barbados and nearby islands, and warnings of wave heights of up to 13 feet (4 meters) have been issued.
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 (50 centimeters) of rain on parts of South Florida, trapping many drivers in flooded roads and inundating some homes in low-lying areas.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
According to the National Hurricane Center, the first hurricane of the season usually forms in early to mid-August, so it would be unusual for Beryl to reach hurricane strength. 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.
