Hurricane Beryl is expected to intensify into a “dangerous” major storm as it approaches the Caribbean

CNN
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berylThe hurricane, the first hurricane of the 2024 Atlantic season, is rapidly intensifying as it heads toward Barbados and the Windward Islands, bringing damaging hurricane-force winds and life-threatening storm surge.

The National Hurricane Center says Beryl is expected to become a “dangerous major hurricane” when it reaches the Windward Islands Sunday or Monday evening. The early timing of the first hurricane of the season is unusual, given that the median date of the first hurricane is August 11.

The hurricane center said in its 2 a.m. ET update that Hurricane Beryl was located about 530 miles east-southeast of Barbados, moving west at 20 mph. It is expected to bring life-threatening winds and storm surge beginning Sunday night.

“Devastating wind damage is expected as the eye of Storm Beryl moves across parts of the Windward Islands,” National Hurricane Center “Life-threatening storm surges will raise water levels as much as 5 to 7 feet above normal tide levels in overland flow areas near where Beryl makes landfall in hurricane warning and watch areas,” he said.

The hurricane is rapidly strengthening, with winds increasing from 35 mph to 75 mph in less than 24 hours. Rapid intensification is defined as winds increasing by 35 mph or more in a 24-hour period. According to the 2 a.m. ET update from the hurricane center, Beryl’s maximum sustained winds are near 90 mph with stronger gusts.

“We expect rapid intensification and we expect Beryl to become a major hurricane before it reaches places like Barbados and the Windward Islands and continue to be a powerful hurricane as it moves into the eastern and central Caribbean as we enter the early parts of next week,” Mike Brennan, director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Hurricane Center, told CNN.

A major hurricane is classified as a Category 3 or higher which has the potential for “significant loss of life and damage.”

Residents in areas where hurricane warnings are in effect should be prepared for the impact of major storms, Brennan said. Beryl brings the risk of heavy rainfall, damaging hurricane-force winds, storm surges and dangerous surf. Rainfall totals of 3 to 6 inches could lead to localized flooding across the Windward Islands Sunday night and Monday, according to the center.

Tornado warnings are Valid for BarbadosSaint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada. Tropical storm warnings have been issued for Martinique and Tobago, and a tropical storm watch is in effect for Dominica.

“Those concerned with the central and western Caribbean region should monitor the progress of this system,” the National Hurricane Center warned Saturday.

Beryl’s rapid intensification is extremely unusual this early in the hurricane season, Brennan said. It’s rare for tropical systems to form in the central Atlantic east of the Lesser Antilles in June, especially strong ones, with only a handful of them forming. According to NOAA records.

The central and eastern Atlantic typically become more active in August, in part because ocean temperatures have time to rise and feed developing systems.

However, this year the Atlantic basin has seen higher than normal water temperatures and less wind shear due to the transition from an El Niño to a La Niña season, both of which fuel tropical development.

“Beryl found an environment with very warm ocean water for this time of year,” Brennan said.

Warmer waters in the Atlantic Basin have given tropical storms and hurricanes the opportunity to develop at a faster pace in a more easterly location, according to Brennan, allowing storms to become more powerful and thus more destructive early in the hurricane season, which runs from June 1 through November 30.

“This is ocean water that you normally see in August or September, but now we’re seeing it in late June,” Brennan said. “It kind of opens up more of the depths of the tropical Atlantic to formation before we get to what would be the traditional peak of hurricane season.”

Caribbean islands urge citizens to prepare before the hurricane

Authorities are urging residents to take precautions as several Caribbean countries are under hurricane watches and warnings as Hurricane Beryl approaches and gains strength.

Officials in Barbados say the island is expected to feel the storm’s impact late Sunday night. Its weather service is predicting gale-force winds, 3 to 6 inches of rain, “hazardous” sea conditions and severe thunderstorms that could knock out power.

“All our usual hurricane preparations are underway. We have less than 48 hours until we expect to see the effects of this system on Barbados. Please use your time very wisely,” Interior and Information Minister Wilfred Abrahams said in a statement.

In St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves warned that the storm could hit the islands by Monday morning as a Category 2 hurricane. The weather service expects sustained winds of 74 to 110 mph or more and rainfall of 4 to 6 inches.

“Kingstown is going to be flooded as soon as this hurricane makes its way through,” Gonsalves said of the capital. “Normally, two inches of sustained rain — in a relatively short period of time — would flood the city. Four inches would definitely flood the city.”

In Saint Lucia, the government warned that the storm could bring “moderate to heavy rain, thunderstorms and gusty winds” to the region. Prime Minister Philippe J. Pierre advises residents to make necessary preparations and review their family emergency plans.

In Grenada, the National Disaster Management Agency is also urging residents to prepare by providing disaster supply equipment, trimming trees and overhanging branches, cleaning sewer pipes, and knowing where their emergency shelters are located.

These systems forming early in the summer in this part of the Atlantic are a sign of an active hurricane season ahead, according to Search from Phil Klotzbach, a hurricane expert and research scientist at Colorado State University. Typically, ocean temperatures are not warm enough in June and July to help tropical systems thrive.

National Weather Service Meteorologists expect This season is expected to see 17 to 25 named storms, eight to 13 of which will become hurricanes, including four to seven major hurricanes.

“This is well above average,” Brennan noted.

The weather service says this is due to “a combination of factors, including near-record warm Atlantic Ocean temperatures, developing La Niña conditions in the Pacific, and reduced Atlantic trade winds and lower wind shear, all of which tend to favor tropical storm formation.”