MIAMI — Tropical Storm Beryl has strengthened into a hurricane in the Atlantic and is forecast to reach Category 3 or higher as it approaches the Caribbean, the U.S. National Hurricane Center announced Saturday.
The agency indicated in its most recent report at 5:00 p.m. that the system has maximum sustained winds of 75 miles per hour (mph) and is heading west at a speed near 22 mph.
“A relatively rapid westward movement to west-northwest is expected over the next few days. On the forecast track, the center of Beryl is expected to move across the Windward Islands on Sunday night and Monday,” the NHC warned.
A hurricane is considered major if it reaches Category 3 or higher, with winds of at least 178 km/h (111 mph). Hurricane warnings were in effect for Barbados, Saint Lucia, Grenada and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, while a tropical storm watch was issued for Martinique and Tobago.
“It is surprising to see a major hurricane (Category 3 or higher) forecast in June anywhere in the Atlantic, let alone one so far east in the deep tropics. Beryl quickly organized in the warmest waters on record in late June,” Florida-based hurricane expert Michael Lowry wrote in X.
Beryl’s vortex is forecast to pass about 45 km (26 miles) south of Barbados, said Sabu Best, director of the island’s meteorological service.
Source: With information from AP
