Hurricane Beryl approaches southeastern Caribbean after strengthening to dangerous Category 4 storm – WWLP

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Hurricane Beryl approached the southeastern Caribbean late Sunday after strengthening into what experts called an “extremely dangerous” Category 4 storm, and government officials implored people to take shelter.

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

“This is a very dangerous situation,” the US National Hurricane Center in Miami warned, saying Beryl was “expected to produce life-threatening wind gusts and storm surges.”

Beryl was centered about 150 miles (240 kilometers) southeast of Barbados late Sunday night. The storm had maximum sustained winds of 130 mph (215 km/h) and was moving westward at 20 mph (31 km/h). It is a compact storm, with hurricane-force winds extending outward up to 30 miles (45 kilometers) from the center.

A tropical storm warning was in effect for Martinique and Trinidad. A tropical storm watch 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 was expected to pass just south of Barbados Monday morning and then enter the Caribbean Sea as a major hurricane on its way to Jamaica. The hurricane was expected to weaken by midweek but remain a hurricane as it heads toward Mexico.

Historic hurricane

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

It took just 42 hours for Beryl to grow from a tropical depression to a major hurricane, a feat accomplished only six times in Atlantic hurricane history, with Sept. 1 being the previous earliest date, according to hurricane expert Sam Lillo.

Beryl subsequently strengthened and became the first Category 4 Atlantic hurricane on record. That defeated Hurricane Dennis, which became a Category 4 storm on July 8, 2005, according to 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 has not yet struck.”

Hurricane Ivan was the last major hurricane to hit the southeastern Caribbean in 2004. The hurricane caused 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, who lives in Grenada, worked the Sunday shift at a local hotel, preparing guests and urging them to stay away from windows while keeping enough food and water for everyone.

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

“I know it’s part of nature. I’m fine with it,” she said. “We just have to learn to live with it.”

Forecasters warned of a life-threatening storm surge of up to 3 meters in the areas where Beryl makes landfall, with up to 15 centimeters of rain expected for Barbados and nearby islands.

Beryl is fueled by warm water, making the heat content of the deep Atlantic Ocean the highest ever recorded at this time of year, said Brian McNoldy, a tropical meteorology researcher at the University of Miami.

Lowry said the waters are warmer now than at the height of the hurricane season in September.

Beryl marks the farthest east a hurricane has formed in the tropical Atlantic in June, breaking a record set in 1933, Klotzbach said.

“Please take this very seriously and prepare yourselves,” said Ralph Gonsalves, the prime minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. “This is a terrible hurricane.”

Preparing for the storm

Long lines formed at gas stations and supermarkets in Barbados and other islands as people rushed to prepare for a storm that quickly intensified.

Thousands of people were in Barbados on Saturday for the Twenty20 World Cup final, cricket’s biggest event, with Prime Minister Mia Mottley noting that not all fans were able to leave on Sunday despite many rushing to change their 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 had to close on Sunday evening and warned the airport would close overnight.

People across Barbados were preparing, including Peter Corbin, 71, who was helping his son put up plywood to protect the glass doors of his home. He said by phone that he was worried about Beryl’s impact on the islands just east of Barbados.

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

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

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

Looking forward

Caribbean leaders were preparing not only for Beryl, but also for a series of thunderstorms that would follow the hurricane and had a 70% chance of becoming 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 hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to November 30 in the Atlantic Ocean. Earlier this month, Tropical Storm Alberto made landfall in northeastern Mexico, dumping heavy rains that left four people dead.

A tropical depression formed near the coastal city of Veracruz in eastern Mexico on Sunday evening, with the National Hurricane Center warning of flooding and mudslides.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts that the 2024 hurricane season will likely 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 has 14 named storms, seven of which are hurricanes and three of which are major hurricanes.