Hurricane Beryl (centre right) can be seen heading toward the Caribbean in this US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration satellite image taken at 4:20pm EDT on Saturday 29 June. Photo: AP
Early tropical storm Beryl has strengthened to a hurricane, expected to be dangerous and headed toward the Caribbean, where World Cup Twenty20 cricket fans are among those preparing for it.
Beryl is the second named storm in what is predicted to be an unusually busy hurricane season, with forecasters predicting the area could see up to 25 named storms, almost double the average number, this season.
Churning toward the southeastern Caribbean, Tropical Storm Beryl strengthened into a hurricane on Saturday (local time), with forecasters warning it was expected to become a dangerous major storm before reaching Barbados late Sunday or early Monday.
A major hurricane is considered Category 3 or higher, with winds of at least 178km/h. At midafternoon Saturday, Beryl was a Category 1 hurricane.
How serious is Beryl for those in its path?
India's Hardik Pandya (right) bowls during the Twenty20 World Cup final cricket match between India and South Africa in Bridgetown, Barbados, on 29 June. Photo: CHANDAN KHANNA / AFP
"We need to be ready," Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley said in a public address late Friday. "You and I know when these things happen, it is better to plan for the worst and pray for the best."
She noted that thousands of people are in Barbados for the Twenty20 World Cup cricket final, with India beating South Africa on Saturday in the capital of Bridgetown.
Barbados PM Mia Mottley has urged cricket fans in the area to take the hurricane warnings seriously. Photo: AFP/ Felix Horhager
Some fans, like Shashank Musku, a 33-year-old physician who lives in Pittsburgh, were rushing to change their flights to leave before the storm.
Musku said by phone that he has never experienced a hurricane: "I don't plan on being in one, either."
He and his wife, who were rooting for India, found out about Beryl thanks to a taxi driver who mentioned the storm.
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves said in a public address Saturday that shelters would open Sunday evening and he urged people to prepare. He ordered officials to refuel government vehicles and asked grocery stores and gas stations to stay open later before the storm.
"There will be such a rush... if you keep limited hours," he said as he apologised ahead of time for government interruptions on radio stations with storm updates. "Cricket lovers have to bear with us that we'll have to give information ... this is life and death."
Beryl is the second named storm in what is predicted to be a busy hurricane season, which runs from 1 June to 30 November in the Atlantic. Earlier this month, Tropical Storm Alberto came ashore in northeastern Mexico with heavy rains that resulted in four deaths.
Lowry noted that in records dating back to 1851 only five named storms had ever formed in June in the tropical Atlantic east of the Caribbean, and only one of those was a hurricane. He said that one was the first hurricane of 1933, which was the most active hurricane season on record.
Mark Spence, manager of a hostel in Barbados, said by phone that he was calm about the approaching storm.
"It's the season. You can get a storm any time," he said. "I'm always prepared. I always have enough food in my house."
The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts the 2024 hurricane season is likely to be well above average, with between 17 and 25 named storms. The forecast calls for as many as 13 hurricanes and four major hurricanes.
An average Atlantic hurricane season produces 14 named storms, seven of them hurricanes and three major hurricanes.
Beryl was expected to drop up to 15 centimetres of rain in Barbados and nearby islands, and a high surf warning of waves up to four metres was in effect. A storm surge of up to 2 metres was also forecast.
What path could Beryl take?
Beryl's centre was forecast to pass about 45 kilometres south of Barbados, said the director of the island's meteorological service Sabu Best.
Hurricane Beryl strengthening over the Atlantic Ocean and swirling toward the southeast Caribbean at 4:50pm EDT, on Saturday, 29 June. Photo: AP/ US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration satellite image
Forecasters then expected the storm to cross the Caribbean on a path toward Jamaica and eventually Mexico.
By late Saturday afternoon, Beryl was centred about 1160km east-southeast of Barbados, with maximum sustained winds of 120km/h. It was moving west at 35km/h.
"Rapid strengthening is now forecast," the Miami-based US National Hurricane Centre said.
Atmospheric science researcher Tomer Burg noted that Beryl was just a tropical depression with 56km/h winds on Friday.
"This means that according to preliminary data, Beryl already met rapid intensification criteria before even becoming a hurricane," he wrote on the social media platform X.
Warm waters were fuelling Beryl, with ocean heat content in the deep Atlantic the highest on record for this time of year, according to Brian McNoldy, University of Miami tropical meteorology researcher.
Beryl also is the strongest June tropical storm on record that far east in the tropical Atlantic, according to Colorado State University hurricane researcher Philip Klotzbach.
An unusual early hurricane
It is the farthest east that a hurricane has formed in the tropical Atlantic in June, breaking a record set in 1933, Klotzbach said.
A hurricane warning was issued for Barbados and a hurricane watch was in effect for Saint Lucia, Grenada, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. While a tropical storm watch was issued for Martinique, Dominica and Tobago.
"It's astonishing to see a forecast for a major (Category 3+) hurricane in June anywhere in the Atlantic, let alone this far east in the deep tropics. #Beryl organizing in a hurry over the warmest waters ever recorded for late June," Florida-based hurricane expert Michael Lowry posted on social media platform X.
Beryl adds to other serious weather events for the area
The storm is approaching the southeastern Caribbean just days after the twin-island nation of Trinidad and Tobago had major flooding in the capital, Port-of-Spain, as a result of an unrelated weather event.
Caribbean leaders are not only worried about Beryl, but also about a cluster of thunderstorms closely following Beryl's path that had a 70 percent chance of becoming a tropical depression by the middle of next week.
Meanwhile, a no-name storm earlier this June dumped more than 50 centimetres of rain on parts of South Florida, stranding numerous motorists on flooded streets and pushing water into some homes in low-lying areas.
- AP