Hurricane Beryl makes landfall as ‘extremely dangerous’ Category 4 storm battering Caribbean islands

Hurricane Beryl made landfall as a powerful Category 4 storm on the Caribbean island of Carriacou in Grenada on Monday, as forecasters warned the first major hurricane of the Atlantic season would bring “extremely dangerous” conditions.

The National Hurricane Center said “life-threatening winds and dangerous storm surge” were beginning in the Windward Islands as Beryl’s eyewall – a powerful Category 4 — moved over the island of Carriacou. Beryl is expected to move across the southeastern and central Caribbean from Monday to Wednesday.

Hurricane warnings were in effect for Barbados, Grenada, Tobago and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Jamaica was under a hurricane watch. Tropical storm warnings were in effect for Martinique, Trinidad and Saint Lucia, and tropical storm warnings were in effect for parts of the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

A hurricane warning is issued when hurricane conditions are imminent and “preparations to protect life and property should be made” in the warning area, according to the hurricane center, while a hurricane watch indicates conditions are possible within 48 hours. A tropical storm warning means tropical storm conditions are expected in the warning area within 36 hours.

At 11 a.m., Beryl was centered about 56 km northeast of Grenada and 24 km east-southeast of Carriacou Island, moving west-northwest at a speed of 32 km/h with maximum sustained winds of 225 km/h. It is a compact storm, with hurricane-force winds extending 30 miles (48 km) from its center. An hour earlier, a weather station at Grantley Adams International Airport in Barbados had already reported sustained winds of 84 km/h and gusts of 111 km/h, according to the hurricane center.

Residents of the Grenadines and Carriacou Islands were advised not to leave their shelters as forecasters expected winds to increase rapidly in the hurricane’s eyewall.

“Remain in place despite these life-threatening conditions and do not venture into the eye of the storm,” the center said.

Beryl was forecast to pass just south of Barbados early Monday, then track toward the Caribbean Sea as a major hurricane on its way to Jamaica. It was forecast to weaken by mid-week, but still remain a hurricane as it heads toward Mexico.

Historic Hurricane

It took Beryl just 42 hours to go from a tropical depression to a major hurricane – a feat accomplished only six times in the history of Atlantic hurricanes, and with September 1 as the earliest date, according to hurricane expert Sam Lillo.

Beryl became the third Category 3 hurricane on record in the Atlantic in June, following Audrey in 1957 and Alma in 1966, said Michael Lowry, a hurricane and storm surge expert.

“Beryl is an extremely dangerous and rare hurricane at this time of year in this region,” he told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. “Unusual is an understatement. Beryl is already a historic hurricane and it hasn’t hit yet.”

Hurricane Ivan in 2004 was the last strongest hurricane to hit the southeastern Caribbean, causing catastrophic damage to Grenada as a Category 3 storm.

“So this is a serious threat, a very serious threat,” Lowry said of Beryl.

Beryl is the second named storm in what is expected to be a busy hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to November 30 in the Atlantic. Last week, Tropical Storm Alberto Causes Torrential Flooding in parts of southern Texas and northeastern Mexico. It was responsible for at least four deaths in the Mexican states of Nuevo Leon and Veracruz.

According to CBS News weather producer David Parkinson, Beryl is the easternmost hurricane to form in June, and one of only two to form in the eastern Caribbean, the other occurring in 1933. Parkinson expects Beryl to remain south of Jamaica, and predicts that any U.S. impact is still at least eight days away.

Warm waters are feeding Beryl, with ocean heat content in the deep Atlantic the highest ever recorded for this time of year, according to Brian McNoldy, a tropical meteorologist at the University of Miami.

Forecasters have warned of a potentially life-threatening storm surge of up to 9 feet in areas where Beryl makes landfall, with up to 6 inches of rain for Barbados and neighboring islands.

Preparing for the storm

Long lines formed at gas stations and grocery stores across Barbados and other islands as people rushed to prepare for a storm that quickly intensified from a tropical storm with 35 mph winds on Friday to a Category 1 hurricane on Saturday.

“We have to be prepared,” Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley said in a public address Friday night. “You and I know that when these things happen, it’s best to plan for the worst and pray for the best.”

She noted that thousands of people were in Barbados on Saturday for the Twenty20 Cricket World Cup FinalIndia having beaten South Africa on Saturday in the capital Bridgetown. This event is considered to be the biggest event in cricket.

Meanwhile, St. Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves said in a public address Saturday that shelters would open Sunday night and urged people to prepare. He ordered officials to refuel government vehicles and asked grocery stores and gas stations to stay open later, ahead of the storm.

“Please take this very seriously and be prepared,” Gonsalves said. “This is a terrible hurricane.”

Caribbean leaders were preparing not only for Beryl, but also for a series of storms following the hurricane, which have a 70 percent chance of developing into a tropical depression.

“Don’t let your guard down,” Mottley said.

According to the National Hurricane Center, the first hurricane of the season typically forms in early to mid-August, making Beryl unusual for reaching hurricane strength so early in the summer. In a report released last month, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts ‘above average’ hurricane season With 17 to 25 storms, 8 to 13 hurricanes and 4 to 7 major hurricanes of category 3 or higher. An average Atlantic hurricane season produces 14 named storms, including seven hurricanes and three major hurricanes.

A tropical storm is named when a tropical cyclone has maximum sustained winds of 39 to 73 mph, while a hurricane is defined as a tropical cyclone with maximum sustained winds in excess of 74 mph.