As Hurricane Beryl closed in on the southeastern Caribbean, government officials were pleading with people to take shelter from the dangerous Category 3 storm.
Hurricane Beryl was closing in on the southeastern Caribbean early Monday after government officials pleaded with people to take shelter from the dangerous Category 3 storm.
Beryl was expected to make landfall over the Windward Islands Monday morning, then move across the southeastern and central Caribbean late Monday through Wednesday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said. Hurricane warnings were in effect for Barbados, St. Lucia, Grenada, Tobago and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
« This is a very dangerous situation », the center warned, adding that Beryl was « forecast to bring life-threatening winds and storm surge. »
As of 5 a.m. EDT, Beryl was centered about 125 miles east-southeast of Grenada and 140 miles southeast of St. Vincent, scampering west at 20 mph with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph. It was a compact storm, with hurricane-force winds extending 30 miles from its center.
It had gained Category 4 strength Sunday before weakening slightly, and further fluctuations in strength were forecast. A hurricane needs maximum sustained winds of 130 mph to be considered a Category 4.
« It appears the hurricane may be undergoing an eyewall replacement, wherein it gets temporarily weaker in exchange for gaining a larger wind field », observed CBS News senior weather and climate producer David Parkinson.
A tropical storm warning was in effect for Martinique and Trinidad. A tropical storm watch was issued for Dominica, Haiti’s entire southern coast, and from Punta Palenque in the Dominican Republic west to the border with Haiti.
Beryl was expected to pass just south of Barbados early Monday and then head into the Caribbean Sea as a major hurricane on a path toward Jamaica. It was forecast to weaken by midweek, but still remain a hurricane while heading toward Mexico.Beryl breaking records
Beryl initially strengthened into a Category 3 hurricane Sunday morning, becoming the first major hurricane east of the Lesser Antilles on record for June, according to Philip Klotzbach, Colorado State University hurricane researcher.
