Beryl, a storm gaining strength in the Atlantic Ocean, is now the first named hurricane of the season.
The storm threatens to hit a number of Caribbean islands as it strengthens.
Forecasters say Hurricane Beryl, which formed Friday evening, could become a Category 3 storm as it moves from the Caribbean toward the Gulf of Mexico in the coming days.
Beryl is expected to reach the Caribbean islands of Barbados, Dominica, Grenada and Martinique on Sunday evening.
Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center predict that when the storm reaches the Windward Islands, located west of Barbados, it will be accompanied by hurricane-force winds, life-threatening storm surges and heavy rains.
Beryl is the second storm of the season to be named after Tropical Storm Alberto, which made landfall in northeastern Mexico on June 20. Heavy rains from the storm killed four people.
Barbados’ weather service has issued warnings of power outages and flash flooding as the eye of the hurricane is expected to pass about 45km south of the island.
The storm is expected to drop up to 6 inches of rain on Caribbean islands, including Barbados.
“The reality is that we are not able to know exactly what type of weather we are going to face, but we do know that we are going to face difficult weather conditions,” Barbados Prime Minister Mia said on Friday. Love Mottley.
She is expected to make another statement Saturday evening.
Hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30, is expected to be very busy this year, forecasters say.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has issued its most surprising warning yet regarding the current season. Forecasters estimate there could be as many as 25 named storms in 2024.
According to NOAA, between eight and 13 of these storms could become hurricanes.
Between four and seven of these storms could become Category 3 hurricanes or stronger. That would be more than double the usual number.
If Hurricane Beryl continues on the path predicted by some forecasters and strengthens into a Category 3 storm, the second named storm of the 2024 season would be an early arrival of one of the storms that NOAA had warned against. guard.
“It is astonishing to see the forecast of a major hurricane (category 3+) in June anywhere in the Atlantic, let alone this far east in the depths of the tropics,” said Michael Lowry, a hurricane expert. hurricanes on social networks.
“Only five major hurricanes (Category 3+) have been recorded in the Atlantic before the first week of July. Beryl would be the sixth and earliest to occur this far east in the tropical Atlantic.”
During the 2023 hurricane season, there were 19 named storms.
