”Extremely dangerous” Hurricane Beryl slams into Caribbean island, expected to grow in strength

Hurricane Beryl has made landfall in the Caribbean with authorities warning that the powerful storm is “life-threatening” and could grow in strength.

Hurricane Beryl has slammed into the Caribbean, making landfall on the island of Carriacou, and producing “life-threatening conditions” including disastrous winds, according to US trackers.

The hurricane, which strengthened into a powerful Category 4 storm, has an “extremely dangerous eyewall” moving over the island, which is part of Grenada, and the US National Hurricane Centre warned residents “not leave their shelter as winds will rapidly increase.”

An extraordinary view of the mesovortices within Hurricane Beryl's eye.

Beryl has made landfall on Carriacou Island with 150 mph winds. pic.twitter.com/WgiQJrEbci

— CIRA (@CIRA_CSU) July 1, 2024

The eye of Beryl is creating “catastrophic winds and life-threatening storm surge.”

Posting a video showing large waves, the Office of the Prime Minister of Grenada wrote on Facebook that the tri-island state was “experiencing intense winds and damage.”

“This is an extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation,” the NHC said. “Residents should not leave their shelter and remain in place through the passage of these life-threatening conditions.”

A boat is seen moored in the ocean as hurricane Beryl passes closer to Bridgetown, Barbados on July 1, 2024. Picture: AFP

Experts say that such a powerful storm forming this early in the Atlantic hurricane season — which runs from early June to late November — is extremely rare.

“Only five major (Category 3+) hurricanes have been recorded in the Atlantic before the first week of July,” hurricane expert Michael Lowry posted on social media platform X.

“Beryl would be the sixth and earliest this far east in the tropical Atlantic.” Grenada Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell urged citizens to quickly seek shelter and respect an island-wide curfew ordered for 7:00pm to 7:00am Tuesday morning.

🎥🌬️Beryl azota a la isla de Granada en el Arco de las Antillas Menores.#HurricaneBeryl
Cortesia#VigilanciaTropicalpic.twitter.com/9eOXfOW6aL

— Honduras Al Dia (@Hondurasaldiahn) July 1, 2024

Farther northeast in the Caribbean, officials in Barbados said the island was buffeted by high winds and pelting rain, but appeared to have avoided disaster, reporting no injuries so far.

Barbados seems to have “dodged a bullet,” Minister of Home Affairs and Information Wilfred Abrahams said in a video, but nonetheless “gusts are still coming, the storm-force winds are still coming” he said, warning residents to remain inside until the all-clear.

Tourists look at the sea waves as the hurricane Beryl passes near to Bridgetown, Barbados on July 1, 2024. Picture: AFP

Barbados, Grenada, plus Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Tobago were all under hurricane warnings, the NHC said, while a hurricane watch or tropical storm warnings or watches were in effect for Jamaica, Martinique, Trinidad, St Lucia, and parts of the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

A state of emergency was declared in Tobago, the smaller of the two islands that make up Trinidad and Tobago, with schools ordered closed on Monday, top official Farley Augustine said.

People walk through flooding from seawater after hurricane Beryl passes in the parish of Saint James, Barbados. Picture: AFP

A man stands on the shelter of a building in downtown Bridgetown as hurricane Beryl passes near to Bridgetown, Barbados. Hurricane Beryl ploughed toward the southeast Caribbean as officials warned residents to seek shelter. Picture: AFP

Hurricane Beryl approaches Bridgetown, Barbados on July 1, 2024. Picture: AFP

A meeting this week in Grenada of the Caribbean regional bloc CARICOM was postponed.

Beryl is the first hurricane of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season and quickly strengthened to Category 4, the first ever to reach that level so early in the season.

Here’s some storm surge down in Grenada caused by #HurricaneBeryl. Hoping everyone is safe and that no lives were lost.#wx#wxtwitter#tropicswx#hurricane#berylpic.twitter.com/PkZ6NuoMNj

— StormSyndicatesWx (@StormSynWX) July 1, 2024

A Category 4 storm packs sustained winds of at least 209 kilometres per hour.

Beryl is expected to remain powerful as it moves across the Caribbean, the NHC said, warning residents and officials in the Lesser Antilles, Hispaniola, Jamaica, the Cayman Islands and the remainder of the northwestern Caribbean to carefully monitor its progress.

The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration expects this year to be an “extraordinary” hurricane season, with up to seven storms of Category 3 or higher.

The agency cited warm Atlantic Ocean temperatures and conditions related to the weather phenomenon La Nina 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.

Originally published as ”Extremely dangerous” Hurricane Beryl slams into Caribbean island, expected to grow in strength