Hurricane Beryl upgrades to 'very dangerous' Category 3 status near Caribbean

NEW DELHI: Hurricane Beryl, the first hurricane of the 2024 Atlantic season, has intensified into a powerful Category 3 storm as it approaches the southeastern Caribbean.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center has issued warnings of the storm's “life-threatening winds” and rising seas expected in the Windward Islands starting Monday morning. Hurricane warnings are in effect for several islands, including Barbados, St. Lucia, Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami stressed the severity of the situation, saying Beryl “is expected to bring life-threatening winds and storm surges…as an extremely dangerous hurricane.” Beryl's rapid intensification made it a record-breaking storm, becoming the first major hurricane east of the Lesser Antilles in June and only the third Category 3 hurricane recorded in the Atlantic that month.

As Beryl continues toward the Caribbean Sea, it is expected to pass just south of Barbados early Monday before heading toward Jamaica as a major hurricane. Forecasters have warned that storm surges of up to 9 feet (2.7 meters) could endanger lives in areas where Beryl makes landfall, as well as heavy rains in Barbados and neighboring islands. The storm is expected to weaken by midweek, but remain a hurricane as it approaches Mexico.

Caribbean leaders are urging their citizens to take shelter and prepare for the storm. Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley called for all businesses to close on Sunday evening and warned the airport would close at night. Saint Lucia Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre announced a national shutdown for Sunday evening, with schools and businesses remaining closed on Monday. Authorities are also concerned about the safety of homeless people and are working to direct them to shelters.

In addition to Beryl, Caribbean leaders are also bracing for a series of storms that will follow the hurricane, which have a 70 percent chance of developing into a tropical depression. The 2024 hurricane season is expected to be above average, with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicting between 17 and 25 named storms, including up to 13 hurricanes and four major hurricanes.