Hurricane Beryl becomes a Category 4 storm before making landfall in Caribbean

The National Weather Service says a very dangerous hurricane strengthened to a Category 4 storm as it approaches the Caribbean.

On Sunday morning, The National Weather Service in Miami said Hurricane Beryl had strengthened to a Category 3 storm. By noon, it strengthened to “an extremely dangerous category 4 hurricane.”

According to reporting from the Associated Press, Hurricane Beryl is now the earliest Category 4 Atlantic hurricane on record.

The “life-threatening winds and storm surge” is expected to start on Monday. AP reports hurricane warnings were in effect for Barbados, St. Lucia, Grenada, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The southwest Caribbean started shutting down Sunday ahead of the storm, with government officials urging people to take shelter.

The NWS says the storm surge will raise water levels by six to nine feet where Beryl makes landfall. Near the coast, the surge will be accompanied by large and destructive waves. Additionally, the storm could produce three to six inches of rain across Barbados and the Windward Islands and up to 10 inches in the Grenadines. The rain could cause flash flooding.

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