Beryl strengthens into hurricane in Atlantic as it approaches Caribbean

Beryl has strengthened into a hurricane in the Atlantic and is forecast to become a major storm as it nears the south-east Caribbean, the US National Hurricane Centre has announced.

It is expected to strengthen into a dangerous major hurricane before reaching Barbados late on Sunday or early on Monday.

A major hurricane is considered a Category 3 or higher, with winds of at least 111mph.

A hurricane warning is in effect for Barbados, with hurricane watches in effect for St Lucia, Grenada, and St Vincent and the Grenadines, while a tropical storm watch was issued for Martinique, Dominica and Tobago.

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Florida-based hurricane expert Michael Lowry posted on X: “It’s astonishing to see a forecast for a major (Category 3+) hurricane in June anywhere in the Atlantic, let alone this far east in the deep tropics. #Beryl organizing in a hurry over the warmest waters ever recorded for late June.”

Beryl’s centre is forecast to pass about 26 miles south of Barbados, said Sabu Best, director of the island’s meteorological service’s director.

On Saturday, Beryl was located about 720 miles east-south-east of Barbados, with maximum sustained winds of 75mph. It was moving west at 22mph.

“Rapid strengthening is now forecast,” the Miami-based National Hurricane Centre said.

Warm waters are fuelling Beryl, with ocean heat content in the deep Atlantic the highest on record for this time of year, according to Brian McNoldy, University of Miami tropical meteorology researcher.

Beryl is the strongest June tropical storm on record that far east in the tropical Atlantic, according to Philip Klotzbach, Colorado State University hurricane researcher.

“We need to be ready,” Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley said in a public address on Friday. “You and I know when these things happen, it is better to plan for the worst and pray for the best.”

She noted that thousands of people are in Barbados for the Twenty20 World Cup cricket final, with India and South Africa playing in the capital, Bridgetown, on Saturday.

Beryl is the second named storm in what is predicted to be a busy hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to November 30 in the Atlantic.

Earlier this month, Tropical Storm Alberto came ashore in northeast Mexico with heavy rains that resulted in four deaths.

“The development of a tropical storm this far east in the tropical Atlantic is uncommon, though not unprecedented,” Florida-based hurricane expert Michael Lowry wrote in a forecast.

“Only five named storms on record have formed in the tropical Atlantic east of the Caribbean.”

Of those, only one hurricane of record has formed east of the Caribbean in June, he added.

Mark Spence, manager of a hostel in Barbados, said in a phone interview that he was calm about the approaching storm.

“It’s the season. You can get a storm any time,” he said. “I’m always prepared. I always have enough food in my house.”

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts the 2024 hurricane season is likely to be well above average, with between 17 and 25 named storms. The forecast calls for as many as 13 hurricanes and four major hurricanes.

An average Atlantic hurricane season produces 14 named storms, seven of them hurricanes and three major hurricanes.

Beryl is expected to drop up to six inches of rain in Barbados and nearby islands, and a high surf warning of waves up to 13ft was in effect. A storm surge of up to 7ft feet is also forecast.

The storm is approaching the southeast Caribbean just days after the twin-island nation of Trinidad and Tobago reported major flooding in the capital, Port-of-Spain, as a result of an unrelated weather event.

Meanwhile, a no-name storm earlier this June dumped more than 20in of rain on parts of South Florida, stranding numerous motorists on flooded streets and pushing water into some homes in low-lying areas.