Caribbean prepares as Hurricane Beryl strengthens into a "very dangerous" storm. June 30, 2024

Cars line up at a gas station as Hurricane Beryl heads towards Bridgetown, Barbados, on June 29, 2024 (CHANDAN KHANNA)

By AFP - Agence France Presse

Caribbean prepares as Hurricane Beryl strengthens into a "very dangerous" storm.

By Chandan KHANNA

Beryl, the first hurricane of the 2024 Atlantic season, strengthened into a "very dangerous" Category 3 storm on Sunday morning, threatening the southeastern Caribbean with potentially life-threatening winds and storm surges, US forecasters said.

The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Beryl - currently churning in the Atlantic Ocean about 675 kilometers east of Barbados - "continues to strengthen rapidly on Sunday morning."

"The storm is now a very dangerous Category 3 hurricane," the NHC said, warning that the eye of the storm is expected to move early Monday through the Windward Islands, a cluster of islands that includes Martinique, St. Lucia, and Grenada.

Beryl "continues to rapidly intensify," according to the NHC forecast, indicating that the storm would strengthen further and become an "extremely dangerous Category 4 hurricane" when it hits these Caribbean communities.

Meanwhile, in Barbados' capital, Bridgetown, cars were seen lining up at gas stations, while supermarkets and grocery stores were packed with shoppers buying food, water, and other supplies. Some families were already boarding up their properties.

Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada, and Tobago were under hurricane warnings, while tropical storm warnings or alerts were in effect for Martinique and Dominica, the NHC said in its latest advisory.

- Devastating wind damage - A

A category 3 or higher on the Saffir-Simpson scale is considered a major hurricane, and a category 4 storm has sustained winds of at least 130 miles per hour (209 kilometers per hour).

Beryl was packing maximum sustained winds that had increased to nearly 115 mph, the NHC said at around 8:00 a.m. (1200 GMT) Sunday, as it warned of "life-threatening winds and storm surge" in the Windward Islands.

"Devastating wind damage is expected where Beryl's eyewall moves across portions" of the islands, the NHC said, indicating that wind speeds in some locations could be 30 percent stronger than those listed in its warning.

The formation of such a powerful storm so early in the Atlantic hurricane season - which runs from early June to late November - is extremely rare, according to experts.

"Only five major hurricanes (category 3+) were recorded in the Atlantic before the first week of July. Beryl would be the sixth and earliest to the east in the tropical Atlantic," hurricane expert Michael Lowry posted on the social media platform X.

"Hurricane conditions are expected in the hurricane warning area from early Monday," said the NHC, warning of heavy rain, flooding, and storm surges that could raise water levels by up to 2.7 meters above normal.

The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said at the end of May that it expects this year to be an "extraordinary" hurricane season, with up to seven Category 3 storms or higher.

The agency cited warm Atlantic Ocean temperatures and conditions related to the La Nina weather phenomenon in the Pacific for the expected increase in storms.

Extreme weather events, including hurricanes, have become more frequent and more devastating in recent years as a result of climate change.

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