Powerful Hurricane Beryl to make landfall in the Caribbean

Officials in Barbados, St. Lucia, Grenada, and other islands in the area on Monday warned residents to seek shelter as the storm was expected to make landfall. The National Hurricane Center on Sunday downgraded Beryl from a Category 4 storm to a still dangerous Category 3 as it moved toward the Caribbean islands. The hurricane is the first named storm of the 2024 hurricane season and is expected to make landfall with winds over 100 mph, according to the NHC. The hurricane center warned that the storm surge would raise water levels by 6-to-9 feet and bring torrential rain to the islands.

Why is this storm historic? Beryl is only the third storm in recorded history to reach Category 3 intensity in the region before July, according to The Weather Channel. The last time a major storm—defined as Category 3 or higher—developed in the Atlantic Ocean east of the Lesser Antilles in June was Hurricane Alma in 1966, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The administration predicted that 2024 will be a more active year for hurricanes.

Dig deeper: Listen to Kristen Flavin, Mary Muncy, and Paul Butler’s report on The World and Everything in It about this year’s storm season.