Hurricane Beryl is expected to become a Category 4 storm

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Hurricane Beryl closed over the southeastern Caribbean late Sunday after strengthening into what experts are calling an “extremely dangerous” Category 4 storm as government officials pleaded with people to take 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 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 was issued for Dominica, the entire southern coast of Haiti and from Punta Palenque in the Dominican Republic west to the border with Haiti.

Beryl is expected to pass south of Barbados on Monday before entering the Caribbean Sea as a major hurricane heading toward Jamaica. It was expected to weaken by midweek but remain a hurricane toward Mexico.

Historic hurricane

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

It took Beryl 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 earliest date being Sept. 1, hurricane expert Sam Lillo said.

Beryl then gained more strength, becoming the earliest Category 4 Atlantic hurricane on record, surpassing 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. “Atypical is an understatement. Beryl is already a historic hurricane and it hasn’t hit yet.”

Hurricane Ivan in 2004 was the last major hurricane to hit the southeastern Caribbean and caused catastrophic damage to Grenada as a Category 3 storm.

“So it’s a serious threat, a very serious threat,” Lowry said of Beryl.

Reecia Marshall, who lives in Grenada, was working the Sunday shift at a local hotel, preparing guests and urging them to stay away from windows as she stored 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. It doesn’t bother me,” she said. “We just have to live with it.”

Forecasters are warning of life-threatening storm surges of up to 9 feet in areas where Beryl lands, 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 waters are warmer now than 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 matter very seriously and prepare,” said Ralph Gonsalves, prime minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. “It’s 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 was quickly gaining strength.

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

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

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

Across Barbados, people prepared, including Peter Corbin, 71, who helped his son install plywood to protect the glass doors of his home. He said on the phone that 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 a priority,” he said.

Looking to the future

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

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

Beryl is the second named storm in the forecast above-average hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to November 30 in the Atlantic. Earlier this month, Tropical Storm Alberto came ashore in northeastern Mexico with heavy rains that killed four people.

A tropical depression formed off Mexico’s eastern coast near the city of Veracruz on Sunday evening. The National Hurricane Center has issued a flood and mudslide warning.

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.

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