Beryl, which became the first hurricane of the season at 5 p.m. Saturday, saw maximum sustained winds continue to increase, reaching 90 mph on the advisory at 2 a.m. Sunday.
The steady increase in wind speed came after the hurricane center – which Beryl said was “rapidly intensifying” – forecast the storm would reach top winds of 120 miles per hour as it barreled through the Caribbean Sea.
“Beryl is expected to be a dangerous major hurricane when it reaches the Windward Islands Sunday night or Monday, with destructive hurricane-force winds and life-threatening storm surges,” the hurricane center said.
Related articles
Hurricane warnings have been issued for the eastern Caribbean as the islands brace for the first hurricane of what is expected to be an extremely active storm season.
On Wednesday, the storm is expected to encounter unfavorable atmospheric conditions, with high-altitude winds weakening the storm.
At 2 a.m. the storm was located 850 kilometers east-southeast of Barbados and was moving west at 32 km/h.
A Hurricane Warning is in effect for Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadine Islands, and Grenada, while a Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for Martinique and Tobago. A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect for Dominica.
Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 15 miles (24 kilometers) from Beryl’s center, and tropical storm-force winds extend outward up to 70 miles (110 kilometers).
“Development this far east in late June is unusual,” the hurricane center’s meteorologists said. “In fact, there have only been a few storms in history that have formed this early in the year over the central or eastern tropical Atlantic.”
Beryl is not expected to hit South Florida.
Meanwhile, the hurricane center is monitoring two other systems.
A tropical wave in the eastern Atlantic Ocean, several hundred kilometers south-southwest of Cape Verde, has become more organized and has seen its chance of forming in the next 48 hours increase to 40% at 02:00, while the seven-day chance remains at 70%.
“Slow development of this system is possible next week as it moves generally westward across the central and western tropical Atlantic at 15 to 20 mph (25 to 32 km/h), forecasters said.
In addition, a tropical wave already moving across the Caribbean and moving west toward Mexico is causing widespread showers and thunderstorms.
“The disturbance is expected to move westward across the Yucatan Peninsula and emerge over the Bay of Campeche late Saturday or early Sunday, after which some development will be possible,” forecasters said.
At that point, as the system moves toward central Mexico, it could develop into a tropical depression.
Heavy rain is still expected to hit parts of Central America and Mexico this weekend.
There is a 50% chance of it forming within the next 48 hours.
The next storm with a name is Chris.
The western Gulf of Mexico last week generated the first tropical storm of the 2024 season. The system, named Alberto, made landfall in Mexico, 250 miles south of the US border, but sent storm surges and flooding to places 500 miles away in Louisiana .
The 2024 hurricane season, which officially began on June 1, is expected to be extremely active.
In its annual May outlook, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said the 2024 hurricane season has an 85% chance of being above normal, with 17 to 25 named storms with minimum sustained winds of 39 mph, and eight to 13 hurricanes. An average year has 14 named storms and seven hurricanes.
In addition, NOAA predicts four to seven major hurricanes for 2024, meaning Category 3 or higher hurricanes.
Experts from Colorado State University said in their 2024 forecast that the U.S. East Coast, including Florida, had a 34% chance of a major hurricane making landfall this year. The average from 1880-2020 was 21%.
Forecasters say the record warm water temperatures now covering much of the Atlantic Ocean will continue into the peak hurricane season from August to October. That warm water fuels hurricanes. At the beginning of June, the tropical Atlantic Ocean was as hot as in mid-August, the height of the hurricane season.
The hurricane season officially ends on November 30.
