Tropical Storm Beryl forms in Atlantic, expected to strengthen into hurricane in coming days
The depression in the Atlantic strengthened into a tropical storm on Friday night.
HOUSTON — Tropical Storm Beryl has formed in the Atlantic, making it the second named storm of the 2024 Atlantic Hurricane season, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Beryl formed into a tropical storm on Friday night and is located about 1,110 miles east-southeast of Barbados, the NHC said. This is the second named storm of the season after Tropical Storm Alberto made landfall in Mexico earlier this month.
Beryl has maximum sustained winds of 40 mph and is heading west at 18 mph.
It's expected to strengthen into a hurricane as it approaches the Windward Islands this weekend.
Watches and warnings in effect
No watches or warnings are in effect but the NHC advised those in the Lesser Antilles to monitor the storm's progress.
Beryl path
Potential threats
The storm is expected to move across the Windward Islands late Sunday night and Monday. It's likely to bring rainfall totals of 3 to 6 inches across Barbados and the Windward Islands, which could produce localized flooding in vulnerable areas.
Track the storm
Hurricane season 2024 forecast
Earlier this month, Colorado State University released its forecast update for the 2024 hurricane season, maintaining that it will be a busy one. In April, they predicted that we could see 23 named storms and 11 hurricanes with five becoming major hurricanes. They blame the extremely warm tropical Atlantic and likely “La Niña” as the primary reasons.
On average, the Atlantic sees about 14 named storms each hurricane season. Of those, seven become hurricanes with three becoming major (Category 3 or above) storms.
Why such an active season? Dr. Phil Klotzbach, lead forecaster at CSU, says it's because of two main factors -- above-normal sea surface temperatures and expected La Niña conditions this summer. The warm water adds more energy to the tropics, making fuel for these storms more available. But perhaps more importantly, La Niña usually reduces vertical wind shear.
Winds blowing across a developing or mature tropical system can keep a budding system from developing and weaken stronger storms. This reduces the total storm count. But when La Niña conditions are in place, this wind shear is often reduced. That, combined with the warm ocean surface temps is why Dr. Klotzbach believes more storms than normal will form.
Watch: Dr. Phil Klotzbach talks to KHOU 11 Chief Meteorologist David Paul about the 2024 hurricane season
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