Hurricane Beryl upgraded to Category 4

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Hurricane Beryl approached the southeastern Caribbean on Sunday evening after strengthening into what experts called an “extremely dangerous” Category 4 storm. Government officials implored people to seek shelter.

The storm was expected to make landfall in the Windward Islands on Monday morning. Hurricane warnings were in effect for Barbados, St. Lucia, Grenada, Tobago, St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

“This is a very dangerous situation,” the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami warned, saying Beryl was “expected to produce life-threatening wind gusts and storm surges.”

Beryl was centered about 200 miles southeast of Barbados Sunday night. Maximum sustained winds were 130 mph and the storm was moving west-northwest at 18 mph. It is a compact storm, with hurricane-force winds extending 35 miles from the center.

A tropical storm warning was in effect for Martinique and Trinidad. A tropical storm watch was issued for Dominica, the entire southern coast of Haiti and from Punta Palenque in the Dominican Republic west to the border with Haiti.

Beryl is expected to pass just south of Barbados early Monday and then move into the Caribbean Sea as a major hurricane on its way to Jamaica. The storm is expected to weaken by midweek but remain a hurricane as it heads toward Mexico.

Beryl had strengthened to a Category 3 hurricane by Sunday morning, according to Philip Klotzbach, a hurricane researcher at Colorado State University. It was the first major hurricane recorded east of the Lesser Antilles in June.

Beryl needed just 42 hours to transform from a tropical depression into a major hurricane. According to hurricane expert Sam Lillo, that had happened only six times before in the history of Atlantic hurricanes, and September 1 was the earliest date.

According to hurricane specialist and storm surge expert Michael Lowry, Beryl is now the earliest Category 4 hurricane on record in the Atlantic, surpassing Hurricane Dennis, which became a Category 4 storm on July 8, 2005.

“Beryl is an extremely dangerous and rare hurricane for this time of year in this area,” he said in a telephone interview. “Unusual is an understatement. Beryl is already a historic hurricane and has not yet struck.”

Hurricane Ivan was the last major hurricane to hit the southeastern Caribbean in 2004. The hurricane caused catastrophic damage to Grenada as a Category 3 storm.

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

Reecia Marshall, who lives in Grenada, worked the Sunday shift at a local hotel, preparing guests and urging them to stay away from windows while keeping enough food and water for everyone.

She said she was just a child when Hurricane Ivan hit and she is not afraid of Beryl.

“I know it’s part of nature. I’m fine with it,” she said. “We just have to learn to live with it.”

Meteorologists warned of a life-threatening storm surge of up to 2.7 metres (9 feet) high in areas where Beryl makes landfall, with up to 15 centimetres (6 inches) of rain expected in Barbados and nearby islands.

Warm waters fueled Beryl, with the heat content of the oceans in the deep Atlantic Ocean being the highest ever recorded for this time of year, according to Brian McNoldy, a tropical meteorology researcher at the University of Miami. Lowry said the waters are warmer now than at the height of the hurricane season in September.

According to Klotzbach, Beryl is the easternmost location where a hurricane formed in the tropical Atlantic Ocean in June. This breaks a record set in 1933.

“Please take this very seriously and prepare,” said Ralph Gonsalves, the Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. “This is a terrible hurricane.”

Long lines formed at gas stations and supermarkets in Barbados and other islands as people rushed to prepare for a storm that quickly intensified.

People dismantle the awning of a beach bar in preparation for Hurricane Beryl, in Bridgetown, Barbados, Sunday, June 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

This National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration satellite photo taken at 4:20 PM EDT shows Hurricane Beryl (lower right center) as it strengthens over the Atlantic Ocean and heads toward the southeastern Caribbean on Saturday, June 29, 2024 .(NOAA via AP)

Residents cover the windows of their homes in preparation for the arrival of Hurricane Beryl in Bridgetown, Barbados, Sunday, June 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

A man pulls a kayak as sailboats line up to enter a marina ahead of Hurricane Beryl’s arrival in Speightstown, Barbados, Sunday, June 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

People walk down the beach after attending a religious gathering in Bridgetown, Barbados, Sunday, June 30, 2024. Hurricane Beryl strengthened into a Category 4 storm as it approaches the southeastern Caribbean. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

A resident carries wood to cover the windows of his home in preparation for Hurricane Beryl, in Bridgetown, Barbados, Sunday, June 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)