Hurricane Beryl Grows in Intensity, Becomes Category 4 Storm Approaching Caribbean

June 30, 2024 TruthUSA

Beryl made history as the first hurricane to form in 2024.

On Sunday, Hurricane Beryl intensified into a Category 4 storm, marking the first hurricane formation of the 2024 season, as reported by federal forecasters.

Located east-southeast of Barbados in the Caribbean, Beryl boasted 130 mph winds, according to the National Hurricane Center’s 2 p.m. EST update. The storm is anticipated to impact the Windward Islands on Monday as a significant Category 3 hurricane or stronger before making its way towards Jamaica in the following days.

Barbados, St. Lucia, Grenada, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines were under hurricane warnings, while a tropical storm alert was issued for Martinique, with Dominica and Trinidad under tropical storm watch.

Officials from the National Hurricane Center in Miami issued a warning, stating that Beryl is “forecast to bring life-threatening winds and storm surge.”

While Beryl is projected to skirt just south of Barbados on Monday, it is then expected to traverse the Caribbean Sea as a major hurricane en route to Jamaica. The storm is anticipated to weaken by midweek but could still retain hurricane status as it heads towards Mexico, as per the hurricane center.

Different models indicate that Beryl might pass into the Gulf of Mexico between Cuba and Mexico before impacting the mainland United States.

However, alternative models suggest that the storm might make landfall in Mexico before its remnants move towards parts of Texas, while other models propose that the storm could traverse southern Mexico or other Central American nations before reaching the Pacific Ocean.

The National Hurricane Center’s official “cone of uncertainty” shows Beryl affecting portions of Honduras, Guatemala, and Belize, with the majority of the hurricane’s impact expected to hit the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. Subsequent effects remain uncertain.

Noted hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach from Colorado State University, mentioned on social media that Beryl is the first major hurricane on record to form east of the Lesser Antilles island chain in June.

Additionally, Beryl marks the third major hurricane “to have landed in the Caribbean prior to [Aug. 1] on record (since 1851): Dennis and Emily in July of 2005,” as he stated.

St. Lucian Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre announced on Facebook that a nationwide shutdown was declared in the small island nation, starting at 8:30 p.m. local time on Sunday.

“As citizens of Grenada, we need to use the next six hours to prepare for the hurricane. It is not a storm anymore but a category three storm likely to become a category four. Models suggest devastating wind damage on Monday as the eye wall of Beryl moves over the Windward Islands,” said Grenada’s Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell during a press briefing.

The Meteorological Service in St. Vincent and the Grenadines issued a flash-flood alert that would begin at 6 p.m. on Sunday.

NOAA predicts an above-average 2024 hurricane season, with an estimate of 17 to 25 named storms, including up to 13 hurricanes and four major hurricanes.

On the meteorological front, Beryl serves as the second named storm of the current hurricane season, following the recent passage of Tropical Storm Alberto over northeastern Mexico, resulting in four casualties due to heavy rainfall.

The official Atlantic hurricane season started on June 1 and is slated to conclude on November 30, with peak activity usually observed in early September.

Reporting by The Associated Press

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