Ferocious Hurricane Beryl nearing landfall in the Caribbean
Hurricane Beryl maintained its status as a ferocious Category 4 storm on Sunday as the historic storm made its way toward the Windward Islands.
Forecasters with the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) warned that this “extremely dangerous” storm could bring life-threatening winds and storm surge to numerous islands beginning early Monday morning.
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Beryl a dangerous Category 4 storm
A hurricane warning is in effect for Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadine Islands, Grenada, and Tobago as Beryl’s winds and rain begin to lash the islands Monday.
Reconnaissance aircraft found that Beryl’s winds rapidly intensified to Category 4 strength on Sunday, with the storm packing maximum sustained winds of 215 km/h.
The worst conditions are expected here through the day Monday as the powerful hurricane crosses west into the Caribbean Sea. Destructive winds, life-threatening storm surge flooding, and torrential rains are expected along Beryl’s path.
Forecasters expect the storm to remain a dangerous major hurricane as it treks west through the Caribbean Sea over the next five days, potentially threatening Jamaica as a hurricane by Wednesday.
Anyone in the Caribbean should closely monitor the developments of this storm and heed the advice and orders of local officials.
One of the region’s earliest storms on record
Beryl wouldn’t be out of place as a powerful hurricane in the middle of hurricane season, but it’s unheard of to have such a powerful storm this early in the year.
This was the earliest we’ve ever seen a hurricane form in the tropical Atlantic Ocean. The only other storms that formed this far east this early in the year were Hurricane Elsa in 2021 and an unnamed storm that hit Trinidad and Tobago in 1933. It’s worth noting that both 2021 and 1933 eventually ranked among the most active hurricane seasons on record.
This is also the earliest Category 4 hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic Ocean, beating by a week the record set by Hurricane Dennis back in 2005. The historic 2005 season saw Hurricanes Dennis and Emily peak at Category 4 and 5, respectively. Dennis reached major hurricane status on July 7, and Emily did so a week later.
The last time there was a major hurricane before the July 4th holiday was Hurricane Alma on June 8, 1966. Alma was also the earliest hurricane to make landfall in the U.S. since 1825.
MUST SEE: El Niño is over—but La Niña may arrive during peak hurricane season
Experts largely agree that we’re in for a very active Atlantic hurricane season in the weeks and months to come. Sea surface temperatures throughout the Atlantic are running several degrees hotter than normal, closer to what you’d expect in September than the end of June.
These abnormally hot waters will combine with the lower wind shear brought on by a developing La Niña in the eastern Pacific to foster extremely favourable conditions for tropical cyclone development through the peak of the season this fall.
The latest seasonal outlooks call for as many as two-dozen named storms, which is far more than the 14 tropical storms we’d see during a typical Atlantic hurricane season.
Thumbnail courtesy of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Stay with The Weather Network for all the latest throughout hurricane season.