- Hurricane Beryl grew on Saturday and is expected with wind speeds at 80mph
- It is expected to bring life-threatening storm surges starting Sunday night
A ‘rapidly strengthening’ major hurricane has formed in the Atlantic Ocean – marking the first such storm of the season.
Hurricane Beryl intensified quickly into a major hurricane and is expected to bring life-threatening storm surges to the Windward Islands – including Grenada, St. Vincent, St. Lucia and Dominica – starting Sunday night, the National Hurricane Center announced Saturday.
Hurricane watches and warnings are already in effect for those areas, as the hurricane barrels towards the islands with wind speeds of up to 80mph, according to Backpirch Weather, which called the rapidly growing storm ‘unreal.’
Hurricane Beryl has formed in the Atlantic Ocean – marking the first hurricane of the season
It is expected to slam into the Windward Islands starting Sunday night
As of Saturday night, Beryl’s center was about 720 miles southeast of Barbados, meteorologist James Spann posted on X.
Once it hits landfall, the storm surge is expected to reach five to seven feet above normal tides.
It will also bring with it ‘large, destructive waves’ and rainfall of three to six inches, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Beryl is then expected to move into southeastern Puerto Rico by Monday night and into Tuesday.
It may bring with it one to four inches of rain, and is expected to have peak winds of up to 120mph, USA Today reports.
As of Saturday night, Beryl’s center was about 720 miles southeast of Barbados
Beryl is expected to move into southeastern Puerto Rico by Monday night and into Tuesday
This is a developing story.