After rapidly strengthening from a tropical storm to a hurricane during the weekend, Hurricane Beryl has intensified even more Monday morning, becoming a very powerful storm packing sustained winds as strong as 140 mph, according to forecasters from the National Hurricane Center.
The center described Beryl as “an extremely dangerous category 4 hurricane,” saying it is taking aim at the Windward Islands in the Caribbean Sea, threatening the islands with “life-threatening winds and storm surge” on Monday.
Hurricane Beryl is pushing its way toward the west-northwest at a pace of about 20 mph, the National Hurricane Center said in a public advisory Monday morning.
“A continued quick westward to west-northwestward motion is expected during the next few days,” the advisory noted. “On the forecast track, the center of Beryl is expected to move across the Windward Islands this morning and across the southeastern and central Caribbean Sea late today through Wednesday.”
Residents cover the windows of their home in preparation for the arrival of Hurricane Beryl in Bridgetown, Barbados on Sunday, June 30, 2024. Beryl intensified into a dangerous Category 4 hurricane Monday morning, July 1. AP
Although Beryl is expected to lose some strength in the next few days, long-range forecasters say the storm will likely remain as a hurricane as it moves towards the Gulf of Mexico by early Friday. The island of Jamaica is currently inside the so-called “forecast cone,” meaning the center of the storm has the potential to hit it.
Forecasters will refine the forecast cone as new data comes in. As of now, Beryl poses no direct threat to continental United States.
“Beryl became the strongest hurricane for so early in the season in this sector of the Atlantic and may be the strongest system to ever cross Grenada and portions of St. Vincent and the Grenadines,” AccuWeather noted.
“The storm poses a serious threat to lives and significant property damage will result on Grenada and especially the smaller islands that make up St. Vincent and the Grenadines,” AccuWeather said.
A look at the wind speeds of each category of a hurricane. Hurricanes that are Category 3, 4 or 5 are considered major hurricanes capable of causing devastating or catastrophic damage.Len Melisurgo | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Meanwhile, a tropical depression during the weekend strengthened into a tropical storm named Chris, which dumped heavy rain and caused flooding in parts of eastern Mexico.
Forecasters are also monitoring a tropical disturbance about 1,000 miles east-southeast of the Windward Islands, saying it has a 60% chance of developing into a tropical depression or a named tropical storm in the next seven days.
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Stories by Len Melisurgo
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Len Melisurgo may be reached at LMelisurgo@njadvancemedia.com or on X at @LensReality.