Hurricane Beryl is forecast to become a Category 4 storm

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Hurricane Beryl approached the southeastern Caribbean on Sunday night after intensifying into what experts say an “extremely dangerous” Category 4 storm, while government officials pleaded with people to shelter.

The storm was expected to make landfall in the Windward Islands on Monday morning. Hurricane warnings were in force for Barbados, Saint Lucia, Grenada, Tobago and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

“This is a very dangerous situation,” warned the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami, saying Beryl “could bring life-threatening winds and storm surge.”

Beryl was located about 200 miles southeast of Barbados on Sunday evening. It had maximum sustained winds of 130 mph and was moving west-northwest at 18 mph. It is a compact storm with hurricane-force winds extending 35 miles from its center.

A tropical storm warning is in effect for Martinique and Trinidad. A tropical storm warning has been issued for Dominica, the entire southern coast of Haiti, and from Punta Palenque in the Dominican Republic west to the Haitian border.

Beryl is expected to pass just south of Barbados early Monday morning, then head out into the Caribbean Sea as a major hurricane on a path toward Jamaica. It was expected to weaken by midweek but remain a hurricane as it heads toward Mexico.

Historic hurricane

Beryl initially intensified into a Category 3 hurricane on Sunday morning, becoming the first major hurricane recorded east of the Lesser Antilles in June, according to Philip Klotzbach, a hurricane researcher at Colorado State University.

Beryl needed just 42 hours to strengthen from a tropical depression to a major hurricane — a feat accomplished only six times in Atlantic hurricane history, with the previous earliest date for a hurricane to form was Sept. 1, hurricane expert Sam Lillo said.

Beryl then gained more strength, becoming the earliest Category 4 Atlantic hurricane on record, defeating Hurricane Dennis, which became a Category 4 storm on July 8, 2005, said hurricane specialist and storm surge expert Michael Lowry.

“Beryl is an extremely dangerous and rare hurricane for this time of year in this area,” Lowry said in a telephone interview. “Unusual is an understatement. Beryl is already a historic hurricane and it hasn’t made landfall yet.

Hurricane Ivan in 2004 was the last strong hurricane to hit the southeastern Caribbean, causing catastrophic damage to Grenada as a Category 3 storm.

“So this is a serious threat, a very serious threat,” Lowry said of Beryl.

Reecia Marshall, a Grenadian, was working the Sunday shift at a local hotel, getting guests ready and urging them to stay away from windows while she prepared enough food and water for everyone.

She said she was a child when Hurricane Ivan hit and that she was not afraid of Beryl.

“I know it’s part of nature. I’m OK with that,” she said. “We have to accept it.”

Forecasters are warning of a life-threatening storm surge of up to 9 feet in areas where Beryl makes landfall, as well as up to 6 inches of rain in Barbados and nearby islands.

Warm waters are feeding Beryl, and heat content in the deep Atlantic is at an all-time high for this time of year, said Brian McNoldy, a tropical meteorology researcher at the University of Miami.

Lowry said the water is warmer now than it would have been during the height of hurricane season in September.

According to Klotzbach, Beryl is the farthest easterly hurricane to form in June in the tropical Atlantic, breaking the record set in 1933.

“Please take this very seriously and prepare,” said Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. “This is a terrible hurricane.”

Prepare for the storm

Long lines formed at gas stations and grocery stores in Barbados and other islands as people rushed to prepare for the storm, which quickly intensified.

Thousands of people flocked to Barbados for Saturday’s final of the Twenty20 World Cup, cricket’s biggest event, with Prime Minister Mia Mottley noting that not all fans were able to leave on Sunday, even though many rushed to change flights.

“Some of them have never been through a storm before,” she said. “We have plans to address them.”

Mottley said all businesses should be closed by Sunday evening and warned the airport would close overnight.

People across Barbados were prepared, including 71-year-old Peter Corbin, who helped his son stack plywood to secure the glass door of his home. On the phone, he said he was concerned about Beryl’s impact on the islands east of Barbados.

“It’s like a butcher cutting up a pig,” he said. “They’ve got to make a bunker somewhere. It’s going to be tough.”

In Saint Lucia, Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre announced a national lockdown for Sunday evening and said schools and businesses would remain closed on Monday.

“Preserving and protecting life is the priority,” he said.

Looking to the future

Caribbean leaders were preparing not only for Beryl, but also for a series of storms following the hurricane, which 70% believed could develop into a tropical depression.

“Don’t let your guard down,” Mottley said.

Beryl is the second named storm in what is expected to be an above-average Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to November 30. Earlier this month, Tropical Storm Alberto made landfall in northeastern Mexico, dumping heavy rains that killed four people.

A tropical depression formed near the eastern Mexican coastal city of Veracruz on Sunday evening, and the National Hurricane Center warned of flooding and mudslides.

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

The Atlantic hurricane season averages 14 named storms, of which seven are hurricanes and three are severe hurricanes.