Hurricane Beryl, a Category 4 storm, churns through the Atlantic Ocean with wind speeds reaching 130 mph. Courtesy of NOAA
July 1 (UPI) — The Atlantic’s first hurricane of the season developed into a Category 4 storm Sunday and was barreling toward the Windward Islands and the Barbados, packing winds of 130 mph with higher gusts, forecasters said.
Hurricane Beryl, the second named storm of the year, intensified from a depression into a hurricane over the course of a single day while bearing down on the Barbados.
In its 11 p.m. AST Sunday update, the National Hurricane Center located the system about 150 miles southeast of the Barbados and about 245 miles east-southeast of Saint Vincent. It was moving west at 20 mph.
The forecasts warn that it reach the Windward Islands sometime Monday morning as “an extremely dangerous major hurricane.”
“This is a very dangerous situation and residents in these areas should listen to local government and emergency management officials for any preparedness and/or evacuation orders,” the NHC said.
“Potentially catastrophic hurricane-force winds, a life-threatening storm surge and damaging waves are expected when Beryl passes over portions of the Windward Islands with the highest risk of the core in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada beginning early Monday morning.”
Hurricane warnings are in place for Barbados, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadine Islands, Grenada and Tobago.
Tropical storm warnings are in effect for Martinique and Trinidad
And tropical storm watches have been announced for Dominica, the south coast of the Dominican Republic from Punta Palenque westward to the border with Haiti and the south coast of Haiti from the border with the Dominican Republic to Anse d’Hainault.
After moving across the Windward Islands on Monday morning, it is to travel across the southeastern and central Caribbean Sea late Monday through Wednesday. However, forecasts are warning that portions of the Windward Island will soon begin to experience those life-threatening winds and storm surge.
The United States is not expected to be impacted by the storm.
Beryl is the earliest Category 4 hurricane on record in the Atlantic and the only Category 4 storm ever recorded in June.
Only seven named storms have formed over the last 173 years in this sector of the Atlantic before July 4, according to Accuweather.
Alberto, the first tropical storm of the season, made landfall over Mexico on June 20 and then pummeled Texas the next day with rain.
A low pressure to the east of Beryl, several hundred miles southwest of the Cabo Verde Islands, has a 30% chance of cyclone formation over 48 hours, according to NHC.
Another potential developing storm is located over the Yucatan Peninsula, and its projected path will take over nearly the same locations where Tropical Storm Alberto tracked earlier this month. The NHC gives it a 50% of cyclone formation in the next 48 hours.