After intensifying into a Category 4 hurricane that forecasters deemed extremely dangerous, Hurricane Beryl began to press in on the southern Caribbean late on Sunday (June 30). As a result, officials there urged residents to seek shelter. On Monday morning, the storm was predicted to land in the Windward Islands.
Barbados, St. Lucia, Grenada, Tobago and St. Vincent and the Grenadines were all under a hurricane warning. The United States National Hurricane Centre in Miami issued a warning, stating that Beryl was forecast to bring life-threatening winds and storm surge. By late Sunday, Beryl’s centre was located roughly 150 miles (240 km) southeast of Barbados. It was travelling west at 20 mph (31 kph) with maximum sustained winds of 130 mph (215 kph). It is a compact storm, with hurricane-force winds extending 30 miles (45 kilometers) from its center.
Martinique and Trinidad were under a tropical storm warning. A tropical storm watch was issued for the whole southern coast of Haiti, Dominica, and the Dominican Republic, extending westward from Punta Palenque to the border with Haiti. Early on Monday, it was predicted that Beryl would move just south of Barbados before making landfall as a powerful hurricane in the Caribbean Sea and moving towards Jamaica. While moving towards Mexico, it was predicted to continue as a hurricane even though it would diminish by midweek.
Historic hurricane Beryl initially strengthened into a Category 3 hurricane Sunday morning, becoming the first major hurricane east of the Lesser Antilles on record for June, according to Philip Klotzbach, Colorado State University hurricane researcher. It took Beryl only 42 hours to strengthen from a tropical depression to a major hurricane, a feat accomplished only six other times in Atlantic hurricane history, and with September 1 as the previous earliest date, hurricane expert Sam Lillo said. Beryl then gained more power, becoming the earliest Category 4 Atlantic hurricane on record, besting Hurricane Dennis, which became a Category 4 storm on July 8, 2005, hurricane specialist and storm surge expert Michael Lowry said.
“Beryl is an extremely dangerous and rare hurricane for this time of year in this area,” Lowry said. “Unusual is an understatement. Beryl is already a historic hurricane and it hasn’t struck yet.” Hurricane Ivan in 2004 was the last strong hurricane to hit the southeastern Caribbean, causing catastrophic damage in Grenada as a Category 3 storm. “So this is a serious threat, a very serious threat,” Lowry said of Beryl.
Forecasters warn
When Beryl made landfall, forecasters warned of a potentially fatal storm surge of up to nine feet (3 metres) and up to six inches (15 centimetres) of rain for Barbados and neighbouring islands. Warm waters are feeding Beryl. According to Brian McNoldy, a tropical meteorology expert at the University of Miami, the ocean heat content in the deep Atlantic is the highest it has ever been for this time of year. According to Lowry, the seas are currently warmer than they would be in September, when hurricane season is at its height.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts the 2024 hurricane season is likely to be well above average, with between 17 and 25 named storms. The forecast calls for as many as 13 hurricanes and four major hurricanes. An average Atlantic hurricane season produces 14 named storms, seven of them hurricanes and three major hurricanes.
Moreover, in St. Lucia, Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre announced a national shutdown for Sunday evening and said schools and businesses would remain closed Monday. “Preservation and protection of life is a priority,” he said. Looking aheadCaribbean leaders were preparing not only for Beryl, but for a cluster of thunderstorms trailing the hurricane that had a 70 per cent chance of becoming a tropical depression. “Do not let your guard down,” Mottley said.
(with inputs from AP)
