Just hours after Hurricane Beryl struck the Windward Islands as a Category 4 superstorm, packing devastating winds and a powerful storm surge, it strengthened further, reaching Category 5 strength on Monday night, breaking the record for the earliest Category 5 hurricane observed in the Atlantic basin.
The National Hurricane Center said that as of its 11 p.m. ET update on Monday, Beryl’s maximum sustained winds had reached 160 mph, placing it at the highest stage of the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale, surpassing Hurricane Emily, which rose to Category 5 on July 16, 2005.
This happened after the hurricane made landfall on the island of Carriacou early Monday morning.
Trees were downed, power was cut and a life-threatening storm surge sent waters surging into inland areas of the Southern Windward Islands after extremely dangerous Hurricane Beryl made landfall as a maximum Category 4 storm.
The storm produced devastating winds that ravaged the area, leaving terrified residents hiding in their homes and shelters to wait out the storm’s wrath.
Hurricane Beryl was a Category 3 hurricane early Monday morning, but per updates from the National Hurricane Center (NHC), the massive storm’s wind speeds continued to increase and its air pressure continued to drop, eventually reaching a peak Category 4 hurricane with sustained winds of 150 mph before making landfall on the island of Carriacou, Grenada.
A stern warning was then issued by the NHC for residents to stay indoors until the storm had passed.
“This is an extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation,” the NHC said.
“Residents should remain in their shelters as long as the life-threatening situation persists.”
The NHC said Hurricane Beryl produced sustained winds of 92 mph at Grenada Airport and destructive wind gusts of 121 mph, the equivalent of a Category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.
St. Lucia also experienced potentially dangerous impacts from Hurricane Beryl, with sustained winds of 52 mph and gusts of 63 mph reported on the island, according to the NHC.
Hurricane Beryl made history by becoming the second named storm of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, rapidly intensifying from a tropical depression to a tropical storm to a major hurricane (Category 3 or higher) within 48 hours.
After it became clear that Hurricane Beryl was strengthening and approaching island nations such as Barbados and St. Lucia, which were under hurricane warning, people in the region spent the weekend preparing for the storm’s arrival by covering windows, stocking up on gas and gathering last-minute supplies.
The office of St. Lucia’s Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre said all residents should remain indoors until the warning is lifted, following a nationwide lockdown implemented ahead of Hurricane Beryl.
Hospitals and health centers across the island activated their emergency plans, evacuation shelters were opened for residents, and police and fire departments were on high alert, ready to respond if an emergency occurred during the hurricane.
Downing Street also said public works crews would be mobilized across the island once Hurricane Beryl had left the area.
Residents of Barbados have been bracing for the impacts of Hurricane Beryl since last weekend.
Barbados Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley took to social media on Friday and Sunday to urge constituents to take the necessary actions to protect themselves from the storm.
While the worst of Hurricane Beryl was not expected to hit the island, it could still have devastating effects.
“We still need to be extremely vigilant,” Mottley said Sunday night. “We clearly have severe weather in the atmosphere.”
The Barbados Power Company said it had no plans to cut power services ahead of the storm, but that emergency procedures were in place.
“Our protection systems are designed to automatically shut off circuits affected by a hurricane,” the company said.
“In addition, our teams will be in the control centre throughout the night monitoring the systems.”
The island has also opened dozens of evacuation centers for residents if needed, and Mottley urged residents to stock up on food and water.
Although power outages were not expected ahead of Hurricane Beryl, the island shut down its water system in preparation for the storm.
The Barbados Water Authority said the shutdown of the water system was a precautionary measure to protect critical infrastructure.
Schools across Barbados were also closed and Grantley Adams International Airport closed at 7pm on Sunday.
The facility will remain closed until further notice.
Where is Hurricane Beryl?
According to the latest warning from the National Hurricane Center (NHC), Hurricane Beryl was about 510 miles from the Dominican Republic.
Hurricane Beryl strengthened again, reaching maximum sustained winds of 160 mph, a minimum central pressure of 938 millibars, and becoming a Category 5 storm on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale.
Hurricane-force winds (74 mph or greater) can extend up to 40 miles outward from the center, and tropical storm-force winds (39 mph or greater) can extend up to 125 miles outward.
The NHC said a weather station at Hewanorra International Airport in St. Lucia reported sustained winds of 47 mph, with gusts of 64 mph.
Additionally, there were multiple reports of downed trees, flooded roads, power outages and flooding due to high tides in the Grenadines, Grenada, Barbados and Tobago.
Beryl’s predicted track indicates the center of the storm is currently moving across the Southern Windward Islands into the southwestern Caribbean Sea and is expected to continue moving in a west-northwestward direction over the next few days.
On this path, Hurricane Beryl is forecast to remain a powerful hurricane as it moves across the Caribbean on Tuesday, with possible hurricane conditions in Jamaica, where a hurricane warning has been issued.
The NHC said the Cayman Islands, Belize, the Yucatan Peninsula and the southwestern Gulf of Mexico should continue to closely monitor beryl’s movements.
