Hurricane Beryl Strengthens to ‘Extremely Dangerous’ Category 3 Storm as It Approaches the Caribbean

CNN
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berylthe first hurricane of the 2024 Atlantic season, strengthened into an “extremely dangerous” Category 3 storm Sunday morning as it headed toward Barbados and the Windward Islands, promising devastating hurricane-force winds and life-threatening storm surges, according to the National Hurricane Center.

The National Hurricane Center says Beryl is expected to be an “extremely dangerous” Category 4 hurricane when it makes landfall in the Windward Islands late Sunday or early Monday. The early timing for the first hurricane of the season is unusual, given that the average first hurricane date is Aug. 11.

By 8 a.m. ET, Beryl was about 420 miles east-southeast of Barbados, heading west with maximum sustained winds of 115 mph, the center said in an advisory.

“Devastating wind damage is expected as the eye of Storm Beryl moves across parts of the Windward Islands,” NHC He said. Additionally, “life-threatening storm surge will raise water levels by as much as 6 to 9 feet above normal tide levels in overland flow areas near where Beryl makes landfall in the hurricane warning area.”

More accurate data on the storm’s intensity is expected once aircraft make direct observations on Sunday.

A hurricane rapidly strengthens, 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.

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

Residents in areas with hurricane warnings 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, the center said.

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

Brennan said Hurricane Beryl’s rapid intensification is very unusual this early in the hurricane season. Tropical systems in the mid-Atlantic east of the Lesser Antilles in June are rare, especially strong systems, with only a few occurring. According to NOAA records.

If Hurricane Beryl reaches Category 4 intensity before Thursday, July 4, it will be the first Category 4 hurricane on record in the Atlantic Ocean. The storm has already set the record for the farthest easterly hurricane to form in the tropical Atlantic in June, surpassing the previous record set in 1933.

The central and eastern Atlantic typically become more active in August, in part because ocean temperatures have time to warm 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 faster in a more easterly position, allowing storms to become stronger and therefore more destructive early in the hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30, Brennan said.

“This is ocean water that we normally see in August or September, but now we’re seeing it in late June,” Brennan said. “That opens up the space for more deep tropical Atlantic areas to form before we get to what would be the peak of a traditional hurricane season.”

Caribbean Islands Urge Public to Prepare for Hurricane

Authorities have urged residents to take precautionary measures, with several Caribbean countries placed under hurricane watches and warnings as Hurricane Beryl approaches and gains strength.

Officials in Barbados say the island is expected to feel the effects of the storm early Sunday evening. The weather service is forecasting gusty winds, 3 to 6 inches of rain, “dangerous” 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 Saint 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 strong 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 “heavy rain, thunderstorms and gusty winds” to the region. Prime Minister Philippe J. Pierre advised residents to make necessary preparations and review their families’ emergency plans.

In Grenada, the National Disaster Management Agency is also urging residents to prepare by obtaining disaster supply kits, trimming trees and overhanging branches, clearing drains, and knowing where their emergency shelters are located.

Systems forming early in the summer in this part of the Atlantic are a sign of a hyperactive hurricane season to come, according to Search from Normally, ocean temperatures are not warm enough in June and July to help tropical systems thrive.

National Weather Service Meteorologists predict 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 ocean temperatures in the Atlantic, developing La Niña conditions in the Pacific, reduced Atlantic trade winds, and reduced wind shear, all of which tend to favor the tropics.” . Storm formation.”