SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Hurricane Beryl was approaching the southeastern Caribbean, and government officials on Sunday night pleaded with people to take shelter from the dangerous Category 3 storm.
The storm was expected to hit the Windward Islands on Monday morning. Hurricane warnings were in effect for Barbados, Saint Lucia, Grenada, Tobago and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
“This is a very dangerous situation,” warned the US National Hurricane Center in Miami, saying Beryl was “expected to bring potentially fatal winds and storm surge.”
Beryl was centered about 175 kilometers south-southeast of Barbados on Monday morning. It had maximum sustained winds of 195 km/h (120 mph) and was moving west at 31 km/h (20 mph). It is a compact storm, with hurricane-force winds that extend 30 miles (45 kilometers) from its center.
It gained Category 4 strength on Sunday before weakening slightly, and further strength fluctuations were forecast.
See more information: What do hurricane categories really mean?
A tropical storm warning was in effect for Martinique and Trinidad. A tropical storm warning was issued for Dominica, the entire south coast of Haiti, and from Punta Palenque in the Dominican Republic west to the Haitian border.
Beryl was expected to pass south of Barbados on Monday morning and then head across the Caribbean Sea as a major hurricane toward Jamaica. It was forecast to weaken by midweek but still remain a hurricane as it headed toward Mexico.
Historic hurricane
Beryl initially strengthened into a Category 3 hurricane on Sunday morning, becoming the first major hurricane east of the Lesser Antilles recorded in June, according to Philip Klotzbach, a hurricane researcher at Colorado State University.
It took Beryl just 42 hours to transform from a tropical depression to a major hurricane – a feat accomplished only six other times in the history of Atlantic hurricanes, and with September 1 as the earliest date, said hurricane expert Sam Lillo.
Beryl then gained more strength, becoming the first Category 4 Atlantic hurricane on record, surpassing Hurricane Dennis, which became a Category 4 storm on July 8, 2005, said hurricane expert and storm surge expert Michael Lowry.
See more information: Why Atlantic hurricanes are getting stronger and faster than other storms
“Beryl is an extremely dangerous hurricane and rare for this time of year in this area,” Lowry said in a phone interview. “Unusual is an understatement. Beryl is already a historic hurricane and it hasn’t happened yet.”
Hurricane Ivan in 2004 was the last strong hurricane to hit the southeastern Caribbean, causing catastrophic damage in Grenada as a Category 3 storm.
“So this is a serious threat, a very serious threat,” Lowry said of Beryl.
Reecia Marshall, who lives in Grenada, worked the Sunday shift at a local hotel, preparing guests and encouraging them to stay away from the windows as she stored enough food and water for everyone.
She said she was a child when Hurricane Ivan hit and that she is not afraid of Beryl.
“I know it’s part of nature. I’m okay with that,” she said. “We just have to live with it.”
Forecasters warned of a life-threatening storm surge of up to 3 meters (9 feet) in areas where Beryl makes landfall, with 7.6 to 15 centimeters (3 to 6 inches) of rain in Barbados and nearby islands and possibly 10 inches in some areas (25 centimeters).
Warm waters are fueling Beryl, with ocean heat content in the deep Atlantic the highest ever recorded for this time of year, said Brian McNoldy, a tropical meteorology researcher at the University of Miami.
Lowry said the waters are now warmer than they would be at the height of hurricane season in September.
Beryl marks the easternmost point where a hurricane has formed in the tropical Atlantic in June, breaking a record set in 1933, according to Klotzbach.
“Please take this very seriously and prepare,” said Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. “This is a terrible hurricane.”
Preparing for the storm
Long lines formed at gas stations and supermarkets in Barbados and other islands as people rushed to prepare for a rapidly intensifying storm.
Thousands of people were in Barbados for Saturday’s Twenty20 World Cup final, cricket’s biggest event, with Prime Minister Mia Mottley noting that not all fans were able to leave on Sunday despite many rushing to change their flights .
“Some of them have never been through a storm before,” she said. “We have plans to take care of them.”
Mottley said all businesses must close by Sunday night and warned the airport would close for the night.
In Barbados, people braced themselves, including Peter Corbin, 71, who helped his son put up plywood to protect the glass doors of his home. He said by phone he was concerned about Beryl’s impact on islands east of Barbados.
“This is like a butcher cutting a pig,” he said. “They have to make a bunker somewhere. It’s gonna be hard.”
In Saint Lucia, Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre announced a nationwide shutdown for Sunday night and said schools and businesses would remain closed on Monday.
“The preservation and protection of life is a priority,” he said.
Looking ahead
Caribbean leaders were preparing not only for Beryl, but also for a set of storms that followed the hurricane that had a 70% chance of becoming a tropical depression.
“Don’t let your guard down,” Mottley said.
Beryl is the second named storm in what is predicted to be an above-average hurricane season that runs from June 1 to November 30 in the Atlantic. Earlier this month, Tropical Storm Alberto made landfall in northeastern Mexico with heavy rains that resulted in four deaths.
See more information: How are hurricanes named?
On Sunday night, a tropical depression formed near the coastal city of Veracruz in eastern Mexico, with the National Hurricane Center warning of flooding and mudslides.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts the 2024 hurricane season will likely be well above average, with between 17 and 25 named storms. The forecast calls for up to 13 hurricanes and four major hurricanes.
An average Atlantic hurricane season produces 14 named storms, seven of them hurricanes and three major hurricanes.
This story originally appeared on Time.com read the full story
