Beryl, the first hurricane of the 2024 Atlantic season, strengthened into an "extremely dangerous" Category 4 storm today, as it threatened the southeast Caribbean, the US National Hurricane Center said.
Packing maximum sustained winds of 215km/h (130 miles per hour), Beryl has become "an extremely dangerous Category 4 hurricane" which is expected to buffet the Windward Islands with life-threatening gusts and storm surge beginning early tomorrow, it said.
The storm will produce "potentially catastrophic hurricane-force winds, a life-threatening storm surge, and damaging waves," the NHC forecast said.
Barbados, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada are all under hurricane warnings, while tropical storm warnings or watches are in effect for Martinique, Tobago and Dominica, the NHC said.
Cars were seen lined up at petrol stations in the Barbadian capital Bridgetown, while supermarkets and grocery stores were crowded with shoppers buying food, water and other supplies.
Some households were already boarding up their properties.
A Category 3 or higher on the Saffir-Simpson scale is considered a major hurricane, and a Category 4 storm packs sustained winds of at least 209km/h.
Earlier today, while the storm was under a Category 3 warning, the NHC said that by around 10am Irish time, Beryl's maximum sustained winds had increased to nearly 160kmh, with higher gusts.
Such a powerful storm forming this early in the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from early June to late November, is extremely rare, experts said.
"Only five major (Category 3+) hurricanes have been recorded in the Atlantic before the first week of July.
"Beryl would be the sixth and earliest this far east in the tropical Atlantic," hurricane expert Michael Lowry posted on social media platform X.
"Hurricane conditions are expected in the hurricane warning area beginning early on Monday," the NHC said, warning of heavy rain, flooding and storm surge that could raise water levels as much as 2.7m above normal.
"Devastating wind damage is expected where the eyewall of Beryl moves through portions of the Windward Islands," the NHC said, indicating wind speeds in some locations could be 30% stronger than those listed in their advisory.
The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said in late May that it expects this year to be an "extraordinary" hurricane season, with up to seven storms of Category 3 or higher.
The agency cited warm Atlantic ocean temperatures and conditions related to the weather phenomenon La Nina in the Pacific for the expected increase in storms.
Extreme weather events including hurricanes have become more frequent and more devastating in recent years as a result of climate change.
