Hurricane Beryl has strengthened into a Category 5 storm, becoming the earliest storm to reach this severe level in the Atlantic on record. The National Hurricane Center reported Monday night that Beryl’s sustained winds have reached 160 mph after making landfall on Carriacou Island, Grenada’s second-largest island, earlier in the day. A hurricane warning has been issued for Jamaica later this week.
The 2024 Atlantic hurricane season has seen an early and intense start with Beryl’s escalation to a Category 5 hurricane, defined by sustained winds above 157 mph. The hurricane center warned that Jamaica could face “life-threatening winds” and storm surges on Wednesday.
Beryl’s rapid transformation from a tropical depression on Friday to a tropical storm on Saturday morning, and then to a hurricane hours later, was fueled by record warm water temperatures for this time of year. The storm made landfall on Carriacou Monday morning, marking a historic moment for the region.
Weather Channel senior meteorologist Jonathan Erdman noted that Beryl’s wind speeds were the strongest on record for Grenada, the Grenadines, and St. Vincent. According to a CNN report, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago were also impacted by Beryl early Monday.
With a hurricane warning in effect for Jamaica on Wednesday, the island is preparing for heavy rains and potential flash flooding. A tropical storm warning is also in place for parts of Hispaniola.
The hurricane center advises those in the Cayman Islands, Belize, the Yucatan Peninsula, the northwest Caribbean, and the southwest Gulf of Mexico to monitor the storm’s progress closely, as Beryl’s path later in the week remains uncertain.
Michael Lowry, a hurricane and storm surge expert, emphasized the severity of this rapidly developing hurricane. “Beryl is an extremely dangerous and rare hurricane for this time of year in this area,” Lowry told the Associated Press. “Unusual is an understatement. Beryl is already a historic hurricane.”
The last significant hurricane to impact the southeast Caribbean was Hurricane Ivan in September 2004, which hit Grenada as a Category 3 storm and resulted in 39 fatalities.
Hurricane Beryl has set records as the earliest Category 4 and Category 5 storm in the Atlantic. Experts predict a particularly busy hurricane season this year. In May, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecasted eight to 13 hurricanes in the Atlantic, with four to seven classified as major hurricanes, defined by winds of at least 111 mph.
As Beryl continues to develop, residents in the affected regions are urged to stay informed and prepared for potential impacts.