SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Hurricane Beryl strengthened into what experts called an “extremely dangerous” Category 4 storm as it approached the southeastern Caribbean and began to weaken Sunday as government officials urgently urged people to evacuate.
Hurricane warnings were issued for Barbados, St. Lucia, Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Barbados meteorological director Sabu Best said the center of Beryl was expected to pass about 70 miles (112 kilometers) south of Barbados on Monday morning.
“A very severe situation is developing for the Windward Islands,” warned the National Hurricane Center in Miami, saying Beryl was “projected to pack life-threatening winds and storm surge.”
Beryl was located about 335 miles (570 km) east-southeast of Barbados. It had maximum sustained winds of 130 mph (215 kph) and was moving west at 21 mph (33 kph). It was a compact storm with hurricane-force winds extending out to 15 miles (30 km) from the center.
Beryl is expected to pass south of Barbados early Monday before moving into the Caribbean Sea as a major hurricane heading for Jamaica. It is expected to weaken by midweek but remain a hurricane as it heads toward Mexico.
Historic Hurricane
Beryl strengthened into a Category 3 hurricane on Sunday morning, becoming the first major hurricane east of the Lesser Antilles in June, according to Colorado State University hurricane scientist Philip Klotzbach.
Hurricane expert Sam Lillo said it took Beryl just 42 hours to develop from a tropical storm into a major hurricane, a feat that has only been achieved six times in Atlantic hurricane history, with the earliest date being September 1.
Hurricane and storm surge expert Michael Lawrie said Beryl became the fastest Category 4 Atlantic hurricane on record, surpassing Hurricane Dennis, which reached Category 4 status on July 8, 2005.
“Beryl is an extremely dangerous and unusual hurricane for this time of year in our region,” he said in a phone interview. “Unusual is an understatement. Beryl is already a historic hurricane, and it hasn’t hit yet.”
Hurricane Ivan in 2004 was the last and most powerful hurricane to strike the southeastern Caribbean, causing devastation in Grenada as a Category 3 storm.
“This is a serious threat, a very serious threat,” Rowley said of Beryl.
Grenada resident Leecia Marshall was working Sunday at a local hotel, preparing for guests and stocking up on food and water for everyone, while urging people to stay away from the windows.
She said she was a child when Hurricane Ivan hit but isn’t afraid of Beryl.
“I know it’s part of nature, and that’s OK,” she said. “We just have to live with it.”
Forecasters warned that Beryl could bring life-threatening storm surges of up to nine feet (3 meters) where it makes landfall, and up to six inches (15 centimeters) of rain to Barbados and nearby islands.
It quickly strengthened into a tropical storm with winds of 35 mph (56 kph) on Friday and a Category 1 hurricane on Saturday, causing long lines at gas stations and grocery stores in Barbados and other islands as people rushed to prepare for the record-breaking storm.
Warmer waters are powering Beryl, with deep Atlantic ocean heat content at its highest on record for this time of year, according to Brian McNoldy, a tropical meteorologist at the University of Miami. Rowley said ocean temperatures are now warmer than they are in September, the peak of hurricane season.
Beryl was the easternmost hurricane to form in the tropical Atlantic in June, breaking the record set in 1933, Klotzbach said.
“Take this very seriously and prepare,” St. Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves said. “This is a terrible hurricane.”
Prepare for the storm
Thousands of people were in Barbados Twenty20 World Cup final on SaturdayCommenting on cricket’s biggest event yet, Prime Minister Mia Mottley noted that not all fans were able to leave on Sunday, despite many hastily rescheduling their flights.
“Some of them have never been through a storm before,” she said. “We’re making plans to deal with them.”
Mottley said all businesses should close by Sunday evening and warned that airports would be closed overnight.
Kemar Saffrey, president of a Barbados organization that aims to end homelessness, said in a video posted to social media on Saturday night that people who are homeless tend to think they can weather the storm because they’ve been through it before.
“I don’t want them to take that approach,” he said, warning that Beryl was a dangerous storm and urging Barbadians to direct homeless people to shelters.
His comments were echoed by Minister of Home Affairs and Information, Wilfred Abrahams.
“At this time we need Barbadians to be their brother’s keeper,” he said. “Some of us are vulnerable.”
Meanwhile, St. Lucia’s Prime Minister Philippe J. Pierre announced a nationwide lockdown Sunday night and said schools and businesses would remain closed on Monday.
“Sustaining and protecting life is the top priority,” he said.
Looking to the future
Caribbean leaders were preparing not only for Beryl, but also for a series of thunderstorms that had a 70 percent chance of becoming a hurricane followed by a tropical storm.
“Don’t let your guard down,” Mottley said.
Beryl is the second named storm in what is predicted to be an above-average Atlantic hurricane season, running from June 1 to November 30. Tropical Storm Alberto It made landfall in northeastern Mexico, bringing heavy rains and killing four people.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts that the 2024 hurricane season will be much stronger than normal, with between 17 and 25 named storms. Forecasters are predicting up to 13 hurricanes and four major hurricanes.
On average, the Atlantic hurricane season produces 14 named storms, of which seven are hurricanes and three are major hurricanes.
