‘Life-threatening winds predicted’

Concerns about the arrival in the Caribbean of Category 4 hurricane ‘Beryl’, which begins this year’s Atlantic season, the first hurricane of this category since 1966 and which seriously endangers the populations of Trinidad, Martinique, Saint Lucia or the Windward Islands and Barbados.

Apart from this, its behavior is also surprising the experts. The National Hurricane Center said, “Hurricane ‘Beryl’ is rapidly strengthening this Sunday morning. The storm is now a very dangerous Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 185 kilometers per hour.”

The US Hurricane Warning Center has warned of its passage beryl This includes “life-threatening winds and storm surge” that will reach parts of the islands on Monday morning, with “life-threatening winds and storm surge in the Windward Islands”. According to the forecast, the storm is one of 21 events of this type expected in the Atlantic Ocean alone for the 2024 season, maintaining its speed of 33 km / h westward across the Atlantic.

“The tropical cyclone scientific community has been surprised by the behavior of Hurricane Beryl. It’s a very rare case in terms of the speed at which it has intensified at this time of year. And it’s quite obvious how this affects climate change in hurricanes,” says meteorologist JJ Gonzalez Aleman in his ‘X’ account.

Tropical Storm Alberto and Hurricane Beryl have formed so far since hurricane season began in the Atlantic basin on June 1. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA USA), this year’s hurricane season in the Atlantic will be well above average, with thirteen hurricanes expected, seven of which could be major.

Forecasts indicate a total of 17 to 25 storms could form this year, meaning maximum sustained winds of more than 62 kilometers (38.5 miles) per hour.