Beryl forecast to become an ‘extremely dangerous’ Category 4 hurricane bringing life-threatening conditions to Caribbean
Tropical cyclone Beryl is now forecast to become an “extremely dangerous” Category 4 hurricane when it reaches the Windward Islands, bringing life-threatening winds and storm surges to the Caribbean, the National Hurricane Center said Sunday.
Beryl’s center is expected to move across the Windward Islands early Monday, with hurricane conditions including heavy rainfall expected Sunday evening, the agency said.
The Windward Islands include Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada and Martinique. As of Sunday morning, Beryl is about 465 miles east-southeast of Barbados with maximum sustained winds of near 85 mph. It’s moving west at around 20 mph.
A hurricane warning is in effect for Barbados, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada. Tropical storm warnings are in effect for Martinique and Tobago, which could experience tropical storm conditions beginning Sunday night, and a tropical storm watch is in effect for Dominica, which could also experience tropical storm conditions Sunday night.
“Devastating wind damage is expected where the eyewall of Beryl moves through portions of the Windward Islands,” the hurricane center said.
Life-threatening storm surges may raise water levels by 5 to 7 feet above normal tide levels in the hurricane watch areas and bring destructive waves to the coast.
A total of 3 to 6 inches of rainfall is possible across Barbados and the Windward Islands Sunday into Monday, which may cause flooding in some areas. North of Beryl, 1 to 4 inches of rain is possible in parts of southeastern Puerto Rico Monday night into Tuesday.
Additional warnings and watches are possible for the region later Saturday, the National Hurricane Center said.
