A man walks past boarded-up shop windows before the arrival of Hurricane Beryl in Bridgetown, Barbados, on Sunday.
Hurricane Beryl grew into an “extremely dangerous category 4 hurricane” on Sunday, the National Hurricane Center said, making it the first-ever Atlantic hurricane to reach Category 4 strength in June. The upgraded status came just hours before Beryl was expected to make landfall along several Caribbean nations early Monday morning.
Previously, the record for the earliest Atlantic hurricane during the calendar year was held by Hurricane Dennis on July 8, 2005, Colorado State University meteorologist Phil Klotzbach said in a post on X. Hurricane warnings were in effect Sunday for Barbados, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadine Islands, Grenada, and Tobago. Martinique was under a tropical storm warning, while Dominica, Trinidad, and parts of Haiti and the Dominican Republic faced a tropical storm watch.
The record-breaking storm was about 250 miles southeast of Barbados on Sunday as it moved west toward the Caribbean Sea. “The reality is that we need to be ready,” Barbados Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley said in a statement on Friday. She urged residents to stock up on medication and to have vital identification documents that might be needed in case there’s a reason to evacuate.
As of late Sunday afternoon, Beryl had maximum sustained winds of 130 miles per hour and some even stronger gusts as it moved toward the Windward Islands. Category 4 hurricanes, which have maximum sustained winds between 130-156 mph, can cause “catastrophic damage,” the National Hurricane Center says. Three to six inches of rain are expected in Barbados and the Windward Islands, and Beryl could cause “potentially catastrophic” damage from high winds. Forecasters say the major hurricane could also produce a life-threatening storm surge as high as 6 to 9 feet above normal tide levels.
A named storm this far east is unusual for June, John Cangialosi, a forecaster with the National Hurricane Center, wrote in an advisory Friday. “There have only been a few storms in history that have formed over the central or eastern tropical Atlantic this early in the year,” he wrote. Beryl is the third earliest Atlantic major hurricane on record behind Alma (1966) and Audrey (1957).
The storm is also noteworthy for how quickly it has intensified. Beryl went from a tropical depression to a major hurricane in just 39 hours. Sam Lillo, a weather researcher with the forecasting group DTN, said in a tweet that’s only “been done 6 other times in Atlantic hurricane history. And the EARLIEST date this was achieved before was … September 1.”
Beryl’s strengthening, location, and forecast track are more indicative of storms in late August or September — not June. Beryl is only the second named storm in what was forecast to be an exceptionally busy hurricane season this year. Earlier in June, Tropical Storm Alberto led to torrential flooding for portions of southern Texas and northeastern Mexico and was responsible for four deaths in the region, according to The Associated Press.
Temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean have been “record-shattering” for about a year, and that extra heat fuels hurricanes and can lead to heavier rains and flooding. While climate scientists expected the oceans to heat up, temperatures have been even hotter than expected in the last year.
The Atlantic hurricane season is supposed to see the most activity in mid-August, even though hurricane season begins on June 1. However, in a report released last month, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicted that this year’s hurricane season would be “above average,” with 17 to 25 storms, eight to 13 hurricanes, and four to seven major hurricanes of Category 3 or higher.
“Past is not necessarily prologue when it comes to the hurricanes of the future,” NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad said to reporters when the report was released in May. “The key this year, as is any year, is to get prepared and stay prepared.”
Beryl has been intensified by warmer ocean temperatures in the deep Atlantic. NOAA reports that ocean heat content is the highest on record for this time of year. Usually, the El Niño atmospheric oscillation would help suppress hurricane activity, but that pattern is diminishing, which will most likely create a suitable atmosphere for storms like Beryl to form.
Saint Lucia was instituting a “national shutdown” beginning at 8:30 p.m. Sunday night, officials announced. Authorities asked anyone on the island to stay inside, away from glass windows and doors, and refrain from going into the ocean. “Please take all precautions to ensure your safety and protect your property,” the office of Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre said in a statement.
Saint Lucia’s Hewanorra International Airport and George F. L. Charles Airport were halting operations on Sunday evening. The Grantley Adams International Airport in Christ Church, Barbados, was also shutting down, officials announced. Emergency shelters there were opening, and businesses in Barbados were asked to close by 7 p.m. Grenada Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell declared a state of emergency for Grenada, as well as Carriacou and Petite Martinique, for at least a week beginning on Sunday evening.
Hurricane Beryl was closing in on the Windward Islands in the southeast Caribbean as an “extremely dangerous” Category 4 storm, the National Hurricane Center said Sunday night. Forecasters warned the first major hurricane of the Atlantic season would bring life-threatening winds and storm surge to the Windward Islands early Monday. As of 11 p.m. ET, Beryl was located about 150 miles southeast of Barbados with maximum sustained winds of 130 mph and was moving west at 20 mph. Hurricane warnings were in effect in Barbados, St. Lucia, Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Tobago. Tropical storm warnings are in effect for Martinique, while a tropical storm watch is in effect in Dominica and Trinidad.
“This is a very serious situation developing for the Windward Islands,” warned the Miami-based National Hurricane Center. The center said that Beryl was “forecast to bring life-threatening winds and storm surge … as an extremely dangerous hurricane.” Beryl is on track to move across the Windward Islands early on Monday as an “extremely dangerous” Category 4 hurricane before traveling through the southeastern Caribbean on Monday night and Tuesday.
Two hurricane hunters were en route to the storm to gather more details about its intensity, according to the National Hurricane Center.
It took Beryl only 42 hours to strengthen from a tropical depression to a major hurricane — a feat accomplished only six other times in Atlantic hurricane history, and with Sept. 1 as the earliest date, according to hurricane expert Sam Lillo. Beryl is now only the third Category 3 hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic in June, following Audrey in 1957 and Alma in 1966, hurricane specialist and storm surge expert Michael Lowry said.
“Beryl is an extremely dangerous and rare hurricane for this time of year in this area,” he told the Associated Press in a phone interview. “Unusual is an understatement. Beryl is already a historic hurricane and it hasn’t struck yet.”
Hurricane Ivan in 2004 was the last strongest hurricane to hit the southeast Caribbean, causing catastrophic damage in Grenada as a Category 3 storm. “So this is a serious threat, a very serious threat,” Lowry said of Beryl. Beryl is the second named storm in what is predicted to be a busy hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30 in the Atlantic. Last week, Tropical Storm Alberto brought torrential flooding to portions of southern Texas and northeastern Mexico. It was responsible for at least four deaths in the Mexican states of Nuevo Leon and Veracruz.
According to CBS News weather producer David Parkinson, Beryl is the farthest east a hurricane has formed in June, and one of only two to do so east of the Caribbean, with the other instance occurring in 1933. Parkinson expects Beryl to remain south of Jamaica, and forecasts that any U.S. impacts are still at least eight days away. Warm waters are fueling Beryl, with ocean heat content in the deep Atlantic the highest on record for this time of year, according to Brian McNoldy, University of Miami tropical meteorology researcher. Forecasters warned of a life-threatening storm surge of up to 9 feet in areas where Beryl will make landfall, with up to 6 inches of rain for Barbados and nearby islands.
Long lines formed at gas stations and grocery stores in Barbados and other islands as people rushed to prepare for a storm that rapidly intensified from a tropical storm with 35 mph winds on Friday to a Category 1 hurricane on Saturday.
“We need to be ready,” Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley said in a public address late Friday. “You and I know when these things happen, it is better to plan for the worst and pray for the best.” She noted that thousands of people were in Barbados Saturday for the Twenty20 World Cup cricket final, with India beating South Africa on Saturday in the capital of Bridgetown. It is considered cricket’s biggest event. Meanwhile, St. Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves said in a public address Saturday that shelters will open Sunday evening as he urged people to prepare. He ordered officials to refuel government vehicles and asked grocery stores and gas stations to stay open later before the storm.
“Please take this very seriously and prepare yourselves,” said Gonsalves. “This is a terrible hurricane.” Caribbean leaders were preparing not only for Beryl, but for a cluster of thunderstorms trailing the hurricane that have a 70% chance of becoming a tropical depression. “Do not let your guard down,” Mottley said.
According to the National Hurricane Center, the season’s first hurricane usually forms in early to mid-August, which makes Beryl unusual for having reached hurricane strength. In a report released last month, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted an “above average” hurricane season with 17 to 25 storms, 8 to 13 hurricanes, and 4 to 7 major hurricanes of category 3 or higher. An average Atlantic hurricane season produces 14 named storms, seven of them hurricanes, and three major hurricanes.
A tropical storm is a tropical cyclone with maximum sustained winds of 39 to 73 mph, while a hurricane is defined as a tropical cyclone with maximum sustained winds greater than 74 mph.
Source: CBS/AP, National Hurricane Center, NOAA, Colorado State University
