Beryl, an “extremely dangerous” Category 4 hurricane, moved across the Atlantic Ocean on Sunday night and headed toward the Caribbean Windward Islands, according to the US National Hurricane Center, and is expected to bring life-threatening winds and flash flooding on Monday.
The first hurricane of the 2024 season was located about 150 miles (240 kilometers) southeast of Barbados on Sunday night, with maximum sustained winds of 130 miles (215 kilometers) per hour, the NHC said in its advisory.
“Beryl is expected to remain an extremely dangerous major hurricane as its center moves through the Windward Islands and into the eastern Caribbean,” the NHC said in its latest advisory.
The center of the hurricane is expected to pass over the Windward Islands on Monday morning as a Category 4 storm, the second strongest on the five-scale, and could bring “catastrophic wind damage” to St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada.
It is unusual for a major hurricane to form so early in the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to November 30. On Sunday, Beryl became the earliest Category 4 hurricane on record, surpassing Hurricane Dennis, which reached Category 4 status on July 8, 2005, according to NHC data.
Hurricane warnings were issued for Barbados, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada and Tobago. Tropical storm watches were in effect for Dominica, Trinidad, parts of the Dominican Republic and Haiti.
Authorities and residents across the Caribbean island were preparing for the storm's arrival.
Tobago has opened evacuation centres, closed schools on Monday and cancelled elective surgeries at hospitals, officials said.
The hurricane is expected to dump 3 to 6 inches (8 to 15 centimeters) of rain on Barbados and the Windward Islands throughout the day on Monday, with the NHC warning of the risk of flash flooding in vulnerable areas.
Large and dangerous swells are also expected to batter the southern coasts of Puerto Rico and Hispaniola.
In May, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted above-average Atlantic hurricane activity in 2024, due in part to continued record-warm water temperatures.
