TAMPA, Fla. – Hurricane Beryl is expected to become a dangerous major hurricane when it reaches the Windward Islands late on Sunday night or Monday, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Beryl is the first hurricane of the 2024 season.
NHC says Barbados is under a Hurricane Warning while St. Lucis, St. Vincent and the Grendaine Islands, and Grenada are under a Hurricane Watch. A Tropical Storm watch is in effect for Martinique, Tobago and Dominica.
As of 5 p.m. on Saturday, sustained winds were at 75 mph. According to FOX 13 News Meteorologist Valerie Mills, once winds reach 74 mph, a storm is officially classified as a category one hurricane.
“I think it’s pretty likely that we’ll see some more of the Caribbean, especially the Windward Islands, included in those advisories, as the forecast calls for this to reach category two strength before possibly making landfall. And if not, as it moves into the Caribbean right now, conditions are pretty favorable for this to continue to strengthen Sunday and Monday,” explained Mills.
Beryl is not expected to impact the mainland U.S. but the storm is predicted to move into Barbados around Monday and then continue to skirt through the Caribbean, impacting parts of Cuba and Puerto Rico by Wednesday and Thursday.
There is a wave behind Beryl that was upgraded on Saturday morning and there are two waves on top of Beryl, according to Mills.
READ: Power companies trimming trees in case major storm threatens Florida this hurricane season
She says that one wave, deemed Invest 94L, is in the southwest Gulf and has a 40% chance over the weekend and next week to become a tropical low or system.
The tropical disturbance behind Beryl has a 60% chance of gaining some tropical characteristics over the next week.
Hurricane Beryl will bring more moisture to Floridaresulting in higher rain chances, according to Mills.
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