Hurricane Beryl forms, forecast to become Category 3 on way to Caribbean
Hurricane Beryl became the first hurricane of the season Saturday as it steamed toward the Caribbean with the National Hurricane Season predicting it will grow into a major hurricane.
As of 11 p.m., the center of Beryl was located 595 miles east-southeast of the Barbados with sustained winds of 85 mph moving west at 20 mph. Hurricane-force winds extend out 15 miles and tropical-storm-force winds extend out 70 miles.
The system formed Friday as a tropical depression but gained named status late Friday and began intensifying throughout Saturday.
“The storm has been on a steady strengthening trend since it formed yesterday, and now that its structure is more symmetric and compact, it likely will have an opportunity to rapidly intensify given the low wind-shear conditions,” said NHC senior hurricane specialist John Cangialosi. “The new NHC intensity forecast explicitly calls for rapid strengthening and shows Beryl becoming a major hurricane before moving across the Windward Islands.”
Hurricane warnings are in place for Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada with tropical storm warnings in effect for Martinique and the island of Tobago and a tropical storm watch in effect for Dominica.
Storm surge is expected to raise water levels from 5 to 7 feet with large and destructive waves. Rainfall is expected to be from 3 to 6 inches across the Barbados and Windward Islands on Sunday night and 1 to 4 inches to the north over portions of southeastern Puerto Rico on Monday night into Tuesday and 2 to 6 inches over southern Hispaniola on Tuesday into Wednesday.
The forecast expects the storm’s intensity to grow to a Category 3 hurricane late Sunday as it moves into the Caribbean and threaten land by Monday with 125 mph sustained winds and 155 mph gusts.
It’s forecast to stay a major hurricane as it ventures through the open water south of Puerto Rico and Hispaniola but then drop back down to Category 2 as its center approaches Jamaica on Wednesday and head toward the Yucatan peninsula.
Meteorologist Philip Klotzbach with Colorado State University said the formation of a hurricane this far east in the Atlantic in June broke a record set in 1933.
He said only two hurricanes on record since 1851 have been within 100 miles of Barbados prior to August, hurricanes Emily in 2005 and Elsa in 2021.
The NHC is also tracking two other systems with a chance to develop into a tropical depression or storm.
On the heels of Beryl in the eastern tropical Atlantic is an area of low pressure several hundred miles southwest of the Cape Verde Islands with disorganized showers and thunderstorms.
“Environmental conditions appear conducive for additional development of this system, and a tropical depression could form by the middle of next week while it moves generally westward at 15 to 20 mph across the eastern and central tropical Atlantic,” forecasters say.
The NHC gives it a 30% chance to develop in the next two days, and 70% in the next seven.
Meanwhile, a broad area of low pressure is expected to form over the Bay of Campeche by early Sunday from the remnants of a tropical wave that moved across the Caribbean.
“A tropical depression could form before the system moves inland again early next week over Mexico. Interests along the Gulf coast of Mexico should monitor the progress of this system,” forecasters said.
It’s expected to drop heavy rain on portions of Central America and Mexico through early next week.
The NHC gives it a 50% chance to develop in the next two to seven days.
The Atlantic hurricane season began on June 1, but its first named storm, Tropical Storm Alberto, did not develop until June 19. Forecasters with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predict 2024 to be an above average year with 17 to 25 named storms possible.
The height of hurricane season traditionally comes from mid-August into October. The season ends on Nov. 30.
