Caribbean on alert for Hurricane Beryl, the first of the 2024 season

Much of the southeastern Caribbean was on high alert Saturday as Beryl strengthened into the first hurricane of the 2024 Atlantic season, with meteorologists warning it would quickly develop into a major storm.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Beryl – currently raging in the Atlantic Ocean about 720 miles (1,160 kilometers) east of Barbados – would become a “dangerous major hurricane” when it reaches the Leeward Islands late Sunday night into Monday.

A hurricane warning was in effect for Barbados, and hurricane warnings were in effect for St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Grenada, the NHC said in its latest report.

In Barbados’ capital, Bridgetown, lines of cars were seen outside gas stations and supermarkets and grocery stores were bustling with customers buying food, water and supplies.

A major hurricane is a Category 3 or higher hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale with sustained winds of 111 miles per hour or more.

It is extremely rare for such a strong storm to form so early in the Atlantic hurricane season – which runs from early June to late November – experts said.

“Before the first week of July, only five major hurricanes (Category 3+) were recorded in the Atlantic. Beryl would be the sixth and earliest this far east in the tropical Atlantic,” posted hurricane expert Michael Lowry on X, formerly Twitter.

The NHC said Beryl’s maximum sustained wind speed had increased to nearly 75 miles per hour (120 km/h) by Saturday afternoon, with stronger gusts.

“Hurricane-like conditions are expected in the hurricane warning zone starting Sunday night,” it said, warning of heavy rain, flooding and “life-threatening winds and storm surges.”

“Wind speeds on the summits and windward sides of hills and mountains are often up to 30 percent stronger than the surface winds indicated in this warning, and could be even higher at some elevated locations,” the NHS said.

The Saffir-Simpson wind scale classifies Category 1 hurricanes as those with wind speeds of at least 74 miles per hour, up to Category 5 storms with wind speeds of 157 miles per hour or more.

At the end of May, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced that it was expecting an “exceptional” hurricane season this year with up to seven Category 3 or higher storms.

The agency cited warm temperatures in the Atlantic and conditions associated with the La Niña weather phenomenon in the Pacific as reasons for the expected increase in storms.

In recent years, extreme weather events, including hurricanes, have become more frequent and devastating due to climate change.

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