Beryl quickly re-emerges as a Category 4 hurricane, breaking records

All eyes are on Hurricane Beryl which has rapidly strengthened over the past few days.

It is the most easterly hurricane ever to form in the Atlantic in June.

On Sunday, Beryl took another step forward by becoming the earliest Category 4 hurricane on record, breaking the record held by Hurricane Dennis on July 8, 2005. By Monday morning, Beryl appeared to have been downgraded, but it later re-emerged as a Category 4.

Let’s take a look at Beryl’s current situation and where she’s headed.

Current situation

Beryl became a Category 4 hurricane Sunday morning. As of 2 p.m. Sunday, it had a maximum speed of 130 mph (210 km/h) and was moving west at 21 mph (34 km/h). The minimum pressure dropped to 960 mb.

Beryl looks very healthy on the satellite right now with a well defined eye.

Hurricane warnings are in effect for several islands in the Lesser Antilles, including Barbados, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada and Tobago.

This will likely be a destructive storm for several islands in the Lesser Antilles and further strengthening is possible over the next few hours.

Across the board

Once Beryl passes the Lesser Antilles, it will head toward the Caribbean Sea. Islands such as Jamaica, Hispaniola and the Cayman Islands will need to be on high alert for potential impacts from Beryl.

One of the potential good news stories about Beryl is a potential weakening trend as it moves into the Caribbean. Several factors could work against Beryl at that time, including a potential area of ​​wind shear as well as interactions with land that could impact both the strength and direction Beryl ultimately takes.

Most forecast models are starting to focus on the potential for Beryl to hit the Yucatan Peninsula by the end of next week. This interaction with land will also contribute to Beryl’s weakening. This is not set in stone yet and there are many variables that come into play when it comes to predicting the track and strength of a hurricane, but this scenario is starting to look more likely.

It is too early to know what Beryl will do once it enters the Gulf. An impact on the Texas coast is entirely possible, but that is only one of two possible scenarios. Beryl could also follow a similar path to Tropical Storm Alberto and move toward Mexico.

No matter where Beryl lands, the Gulf waters are still very warm, which could mean the potential for strengthening once Beryl reaches the Gulf.

We should start to get a better idea of ​​where Beryl might ultimately end up once the storm reaches Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. We’ll be monitoring this closely over the coming week.