Beryl becomes a “very dangerous category 3 hurricane” in the Atlantic

Tropical Storm Beryl continues to rapidly intensify and has become a Category 3 hurricane, meteorologists say, “very dangerous” for Caribbean communities.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Beryl is forecast to bring “life-threatening” winds and storm surge when it hits the Windward Islands early Monday.

On Saturday, said entity had warned that Beryl is strong enough to be considered the first hurricane of the season in the Atlantic.

Much of the southeastern Caribbean was on alert Sunday as Beryl strengthened and moved across the Atlantic Ocean toward the Caribbean islands of Barbados, Dominica, Grenada and Martinique, among others.

Across the region, people are boarding up their homes, lining up for fuel at gas stations and stocking up on supplies and water in preparation for the storm.

Previously, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) had warned about the implications of a storm becoming a Category 3 hurricane at this time of year.

“It’s surprising to see a forecast for a major hurricane (Category 3+) in June anywhere in the Atlantic, let alone this far east in the deep tropics,” Michael Lowry, a hurricane expert, said on social media.

“Only five major hurricanes (Category 3+) have occurred in the Atlantic before the first week of July. Beryl would be the sixth and the earliest in this end of the tropical Atlantic.”

A “very active” season

In May, NOAA announced that a “very active” season is expected this year. could bring 17 to 25 storms large enough to be named.

In part, these forecasts are given given the high probabilities of the La Niña phenomenon forming during the second half of the year, after having witnessed the effects of El Niño in 2023.

American researchers recently stated that there is a 60% chance that La Niña will develop between June and August, and an 85% chance that this will happen until the fall boreh.

The cooling effect of La Niña may also slightly slow the rate of global warming.

This could indicate that the record temperatures experienced last year are not evidence that the world has entered a more rapid phase of warming.

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