All eyes are on Hurricane Beryl which has rapidly strengthened over the last few days.
It made history as the farthest east a hurricane has formed in the Atlantic in the month of June.
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Sunday, Beryl went that extra step, becoming the earliest category 4 hurricane on record. That breaks the record held by Hurricane Dennis on July 8, 2005. By Monday morning, Beryl appeared to be downgraded but then re-emerged as a category 4.
Lets take a look at where Beryl is now and where it is going.
Current situation
Beryl became a category 4 hurricane Sunday morning. As of 2 p.m. Sunday, It currently has maximum sustained winds of 130 mph and is moving west at 21 mph. Minimum pressure is down to 960 mb.
Beryl looks very healthy on the satellite right now with a well-defined eye.
Hurricane Warnings are in effect for several islands of the Lesser Antilles, including Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadine Islands, Grenada and Tobago.
This will likely be a destructive storm for several islands of the Lesser Antilles and further strengthening is possible over the next several hours.
Down the line
Once Beryl moves past the Lesser Antilles, it will make its way through the Caribbean Sea. Islands such as Jamaica, Hispaniola, and the Cayman Islands will need to be on high alert for potential impacts from Beryl.
One aspect of potential good news with Beryl is a potential weakening trend the further it gets into the Caribbean. There are a few factors that could be working against Beryl at that time, including a potential area of wind shear as well as any interactions with land which could impact both the strength and direction Beryl ultimately goes.
A majority of the forecast models are beginning to hone in on the potential for Beryl to impact the Yucatan Peninsula by the end of this upcoming week. That interaction with land will also contribute to Beryl weakening. This isn’t set in stone yet, and there are many variables when it comes to predicting a hurricane’s track and strength, but this scenario is beginning to appear more likely.
Past that, it is still too soon to be sure what Beryl will do once it enters the Gulf. An impact on the Texas coast definitely is possible, but is only one of a couple scenarios that could play out. Beryl could also take a track similar to Tropical Storm Alberto and move into Mexico.
Regardless of where Beryl ends up, the waters of the Gulf are still very warm, which could mean a potential for restrengthening once Beryl makes it into the Gulf.
We should start to get a better idea of where Beryl may ultimately end up once the storm makes it to Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. We will be keeping a close eye on it over the coming week.