Barbados, Caribbean brace for Hurricane Beryl’s imminent landfall – Latest updates here

Beryl is expected to be the second robust hurricane season which in the Atlantic stretches from June 1 to November 30.

According to Sabu Best, the director of the island’s meteorological department, Beryl’s centre is expected to pass roughly 26 miles (45 kilometres) south of Barbados. With gusts as high as 65 mph (100 kph), Beryl was situated approximately 785 miles (1,260 km) southeast of Barbados on Saturday. It was travelling 37 kph (23 mph) westward.

Hurricane watches were in effect for Barbados, St. Lucia, Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, while a tropical storm watch was issued for Martinique, Dominica and Tobago.“It’s astonishing to see a forecast for a major (Category 3+) hurricane in June anywhere in the Atlantic, let alone this far east in the deep tropics. #Beryl organising in a hurry over the warmest waters ever recorded for late June,” Florida-based hurricane expert Michael Lowry posted on X.

According to Brian McNoldy, a researcher in tropical meteorology at the University of Miami, the ocean heat content in the deep Atlantic is the highest it has ever been for this time of year. According to Philip Klotzbach, a hurricane expert at Colorado State University, Beryl is the strongest June tropical storm ever recorded that far east in the tropical Atlantic. 

Barbados’ Prime Minister, Mia Mottley, stated in a late-Friday speech that “We need to be ready. You and I both know that it’s best to prepare for the worst and hope for the best when these things happen.” 

In the meanwhile, shelters will open on Sunday night, according to St. Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves, who asked citizens to get ready during a public speech on Saturday. He asked petrol stations and grocery stores to remain open later before the storm and instructed officials to replenish government cars. “There’s going to be an incredible rush, if you maintain restricted hours,” he warned, extending his prior apology for government disruptions on radio stations providing storm information.

Earlier this month, Tropical Storm Alberto came ashore in northeast Mexico with heavy rains that resulted in four deaths. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts the 2024 hurricane season is likely to be well above average, with between 17 and 25 named storms. The forecast calls for as many as 13 hurricanes and four major hurricanes. An average Atlantic hurricane season produces 14 named storms, seven of them hurricanes and three major hurricanes. Beryl is expected to drop up to six inches (15 centimeters) of rain in Barbados and nearby islands, and a high surf warning of waves up to 13 feet (4 meters) was in effect. A storm surge of up to seven feet (2 meters) is also forecast. The storm is approaching the southeast Caribbean just days after the twin-island nation of Trinidad and Tobago reported major flooding in the capital, Port-of-Spain, as a result of an unrelated weather event.

(with inputs from AP)