Beryl is a storm building momentum in the Atlantic Ocean and is now the first named hurricane of the season.
As the storm intensifies, it could hit some Caribbean islands.
Forecasters say Hurricane Beryl, which formed Friday night, has the potential to grow into a Category 3 storm as it moves from the Caribbean Sea to the Gulf of Mexico in the coming days.
Beryl is expected to arrive in the Caribbean islands of Barbados, Dominica, Grenada and Martinique later on Sunday.
Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center predicted “hurricane-force” winds, “life-threatening” storm surge and heavy rainfall as the storm reaches the Windward Islands west of Barbados.
Beryl is the second named storm this season, following Tropical Storm Alberto, which made landfall in northeastern Mexico on June 20. That storm killed four people.
Barbados’ weather service issued power outage and flash flood warnings as the eye of the hurricane was expected to pass about 26 miles (45 kilometers) south of the island.
The storm is expected to dump up to six inches (15 centimeters) of rain on Caribbean islands including Barbados.
“The reality is we don’t know exactly what type of weather we’re going to face, but we know we’re going to face some weather,” Barbados Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley said on Friday.
She is expected to issue another statement on Saturday night.
Hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to November 30, is expected to be a busy one this year, according to forecasters.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has issued its most alarming warning yet for the current season. Forecasters say there could be as many as 25 named storms in 2024.
NOAA said eight to 13 of those storms could develop into hurricanes.
Four to seven of the storms could intensify into Category 3 or worse hurricanes. That would be more than double the usual number.
If Hurricane Beryl continues on the trajectory predicted by some forecasters and develops into a Category 3 storm, the second named storm of the 2024 season will be one of the earliest storms NOAA warns about.
Hurricane expert Michael Lowry said on social media: “It’s surprising that a major (Category 3+) hurricane would occur anywhere in the Atlantic in June, let alone in the tropics of the Far East. .
“Before the first week of July, only five major (Category 3+) hurricanes had been recorded in the Atlantic. Beryl would be the sixth and earliest hurricane in the far eastern tropical Atlantic.”
There are 19 named storms in the 2023 hurricane season.
