Hurricane Beryl expected to strengthen to Category 4 storm as it approaches southeastern Caribbean

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Hurricane Beryl is expected to strengthen into a powerful Category 4 storm as it approaches the southeastern Caribbean, which began to stall Sunday following urgent calls from government officials for people to seek shelter.

Hurricane warnings were in effect for Barbados, Saint Lucia, Grenada and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

“This is a very serious situation developing for the Windward Islands,” warned the National Hurricane Center in Miami, which said Beryl “is expected to bring life-threatening winds and storm surges…as an extremely dangerous hurricane.”

Early Sunday morning, Beryl was located about 750 kilometres east-southeast of Barbados. It was a Category 1 storm with maximum sustained winds of 155 km/h and was moving west at 33 km/h.

According to the National Hurricane Center, two hurricane hunters were en route to the storm to gather more details about its intensity.

Beryl is expected to pass just south of Barbados early Monday, then track toward the Caribbean Sea as a major hurricane on its way to Jamaica and possibly Mexico.

Meteorologists have warned the storm could bring a life-threatening storm surge of up to 3 meters to areas where Beryl makes landfall, with up to 15 centimeters of rain for Barbados and neighboring islands.

Long lines formed at gas stations and grocery stores across Barbados and other islands as people rushed to prepare for a record-breaking and rapidly intensifying storm, passing from a tropical storm with 35 mph winds Friday to a Category 1 hurricane Saturday.

The warm waters were feeding Beryl, with the deep Atlantic ocean heat content the highest on record for this time of year, according to Brian McNoldy, a tropical meteorology researcher at the University of Miami.

Beryl marks the easternmost point where a hurricane formed in the tropical Atlantic in June, breaking a record set in 1933, according to Philip Klotzbach, a hurricane researcher at Colorado State University. If Beryl's winds reach 125 mph, it would be the second such storm on record in the Atlantic, surpassing Audrey in 1957, he said.

Additionally, if Beryl reaches Category 3, it would be only the third storm to reach such a level in the Caribbean before August; Dennis and Emily both did so in July 2005, according to Klotzbach.

“We must remain vigilant,” says Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley said in a public speech Saturday night. “We don’t want to put anyone’s life in danger.”

Thousands of people were in Barbados for the Twenty20 World Cup final on Saturday, cricket's biggest event, with Mottley noting that not all fans were able to leave on Sunday despite many rushing to change flights.

“Some of them have never been through a storm before,” she said. “We have plans to take care of them.”

Mottley said all businesses would have to close Sunday night and warned that the airport would close overnight.

Kemar Saffrey, president of a Barbadian group that aims to end homelessness, said in a video posted to social media Saturday night that homeless people tend to think they can weather storms because they have already done it.

“I don't want this to be the approach they take,” he said, warning that Beryl is a dangerous storm and urging Barbadians to direct the homeless to shelter.

Wilfred Abrahams, Minister of the Interior and Information, echoed his comments.

“At this point, I need Barbadians to be their brother’s keeper,” he said. “Some people are vulnerable.”

Meanwhile, Saint Lucia Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre announced a nationwide lockdown for Sunday evening and said schools and businesses would remain closed on Monday.

“The preservation and protection of life is a priority,” he said.

Caribbean leaders were preparing not only for Beryl, but also for a series of storms following the hurricane, which have a 70 percent chance of developing into a tropical depression.

“Don’t let your guard down,” Mottley said.

Beryl is the second named storm in what is expected to be an above-average hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30 in the Atlantic. Earlier this month, Tropical Storm Alberto hit northeastern Mexico with heavy rains that killed four people.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicts that the 2024 hurricane season will likely be well above average, with between 17 and 25 named storms. The forecast calls for up to 13 hurricanes and four major hurricanes.

An average Atlantic hurricane season produces 14 named storms, including seven hurricanes and three major hurricanes.