Hurricane Beryl is forecast to become a Category 4 storm

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Hurricane Beryl intensified into what experts described as an “extremely dangerous” Category 4 storm as it approached the southeastern Caribbean, which began to wind down Sunday after urgent pleas from government officials for people to take shelter.

Hurricane warnings are in effect for Barbados, Saint Lucia, Grenada and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The center of Beryl is expected to pass about 70 miles south of Barbados on Monday morning, said Sabu Best, director of the Barbados Meteorological Service.

“This is a very serious situation for the Leeward Islands,” warned the National Hurricane Center in Miami, which said Beryl “is forecast to bring life-threatening winds and storm surge.”

Beryl was located about 310 miles east-southeast of Barbados. It had maximum sustained winds of 130 mph and was moving west at 21 mph. It is a compact storm, with hurricane-force winds extending out to 15 miles from its center.

There was a tropical storm warning in effect for Martinique and a tropical storm warning for Dominica and Trinidad.

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 is expected to weaken by midweek but remain a hurricane as it heads toward Mexico.

Historic hurricane

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

It took Beryl just 42 hours to transform from a tropical depression into a strong hurricane – a feat that has been achieved only six times in the history of Atlantic hurricanes, with the earliest instance of this happening on September 1, according to hurricane expert Sam Lillo.

Beryl is now 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,” he said in a telephone interview. “Extraordinary is an understatement. Beryl is already a historic hurricane and has not yet struck.

Hurricane Ivan in 2004 was the last strongest hurricane to hit the southeastern Caribbean, causing 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, 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. 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 10 feet in areas where Beryl makes landfall, and rainfall of up to 6 inches in Barbados and nearby islands.

Warm waters were feeding Beryl, and the ocean heat content in the deep Atlantic was the highest on record for this time of year, according to Brian McNoldy, a tropical meteorology researcher at the University of Miami. Lowry said the waters are warmer now than they would be at the peak of hurricane season in September.

Beryl is the easternmost place where a tropical Atlantic hurricane has formed in June, breaking the record set in 1933, according to Klotzbach.

“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 Twenty20 World Cup final, cricket’s biggest event, and Prime Minister Mia Mottley noted that not all fans were able to leave on Sunday, despite many rushing to change flights.

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

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

Across Barbados, people prepared for the storm, 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 a pig,” he said. “They have to build a bunker somewhere. Will be hard”.

Saint Lucia Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre announced a nationwide lockdown on 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% 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 made landfall on the coast in northeastern Mexico, bringing heavy rains that killed four people.

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 as many as 13 hurricanes and four major hurricanes.

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